Tumbbad Movie Review: An artsy, gutsy mix of mythology and horror

TumbbadDirector Rahi Anil BarveCast Sohum ShahRating 35Part morbidfantasy mostly magicrealism mdash hardly a mainstream genre mdash this is the sort of festival film that employs moviehorror as a way to draw you in first Since there are no creaking doors and much less info on whats in store mdash fewer dialogues and hardly any reference points for the characters before us mdash it takes a while to get used to this imaginary worldHow much time Well that depends on how patient you are as a lay or lazy audience But essentially with some seriously effective exquisite production design mdash simultaneously traversing dark empty wellcave and vast rainsoaked Maharashtrian rocky terrains never so strikingly filmed since Avinash Aruns Marathi masterpiece Killa mdash the film further juxtaposes legendmythology with a legit period dramaThe folklore relates to the Goddess of Plenty who held the Earth in her womb Her firstborn Hastar turned out to be a greedy pig cornering all the worlds wealth or gold as it were While his mother saved him from the resultant wrath mdash even death as punishment mdash he was cursed to never have a temple under his name Tumbbad a village of humans defied that curseAs a period piece this film is chapterised into three timelines from early 1900s down to midcentury mdash basically capturing the transition from British imperialism ruralurban feudalism to Indian Independence mdash while the central character a Brahmin boy all the way to adulthood remains attracted to Hastars gold Which is as good a McGuffin as Mackennas Gold to script an allegory around cardinal Biblical sins mdash greed to start with then lust gluttony slothActor Sohum Shah best known for his brilliant debut in Anand Gandhis Ship Of Theseus 2012 competently plays the lead Brahmin man dealing with avarice debauchery decadence dulling his mind crushing his soul Shah has also produced this film earnestly directed by the debutant Rahi Anil Barve Incidentally this is also Gandhis first submission on screen mdash hes credited as writer plus creative director mdash ever since the pathbreaking SoTFor inspiration the filmmakers point to Narayan Dharap 19252008 mdash a tremendously prolific author with over 100 titles who Im told is also referred to as the Marathi Stephen King apparently some of his plots had seemed eerily similar to ones by the American superstar of supernatural fictionEither way what we have here though is actually an artsy gutsy mix of mythology history horror and moral science Do these elements seamlessly add up for you to naturally feel for the characters in the story Honestly no Does the incredibly strong visual craftsmanship rare for an Indian indie satisfyingly guide you into a world hitherto unseenunknown Oh absolutelyTumbbad premiered at the prestigious critics week section of the 75th Venice International Film Festival Originally released in India in October 2018 the film is again running in theatres now as part of the bunch of films being rereleased every week