Movie Review: “Tumbbad” by Rahi Anil Barve The Tragedy of Greed and Mythology

Source: Bollywood Hungama 

Introduction

Hi! Cinema enthusiasts

Tumbbad is a 2018 Hindi-language horror story about gods, greed, and gore. It is directed by Rahi Anil Barve and is written by critically acclaimed writers like Anand Gandhi, Mitesh Shah, Prasad, and Rahi Anil Barve. The movie sets in 1981 and centers on a man and his unquenchable greed.

Movie’s Name - Tumbbad

Director - Rahi Anil Barve.

Writer’s name - Mitesh Shah, Prasad, Barve, and Anand Gandhi

Genre - Periodic - Horror film

Language - Hindi 

Duration - 1 hr 44 mins

Available on - Amazon Prime

Cast - Sohum Shah as Vinayak Rao, Jyoti Malshe as Vinayak's mother, Dhundiraj Prabhakar Jogalekar as young Vinayak, Rudra Soni as Sadashiv, Madhav Hari Joshi as Sarkar, Piyush Kaushik as Grandmother.

About the Movie

Source: ScoopWhoop

The Terror that tricks your mind is the finest kind of horror. The ideal illustration of a movie that generates an unreal illusion is Tumbbad. The movie Tumbbad has a gloomy atmospheric feel. The most encouraging aspect of this horrific story is that it turns normal folks become monsters. 

The movie may be a little too intense and disturbing for some viewers but with its strong life lesson, the film becomes a wholesome watch.

It beautifully presents how a selfish person has much more potential for evil than a cursed supernatural being. 

Tumbbad is a film that reinvents the horror genre for Indian cinema with ideas like those and its exceptional production design.

Synopsis - Spoiler Alert!

Source: ScoopWhoop

The story is set in Tumbbad in the 1920s and the plot revolves around the three generations of a family who build a temple for the firstborn of a goddess named Hastar—he who is not to be worshiped—and then suffer the repercussions. Hastar is a bad entity that has the power to both curse and reward a person with gold coins. Additionally, the story highlighted human nature and our never-ending greed. 

According to the Hastar myth, 16 crore Gods and Goddesses were born after Hastar when the Goddess of Prosperity created the world. She loved Hastar the most because he was her firstborn, but he was also exceptionally greedy.

When the Goddess of Prosperity gave Hastar the choice of owning all the gold in the universe or all the food, he took the gold and then tried to take control of the food in a struggle with his siblings motivated by greed. 

Hastar was defeated by the 16 crore gods and goddesses, and when they attempted to kill him, the Goddess of Prosperity stepped in and pleaded for his life. The 16 billion gods and goddesses granted her wish, but with one stipulation: neither Hastar nor his worship should ever be mentioned in the Puranas.

While raising her two boys Vinayak and Sadashiv at home and taking care of a demon Sarkar's great-grandmother who is aware of buried treasure in Wada, Vinayak's mother offers Sarkar sexual favors in his Wada in 1918 in exchange for gold coins. 

After Sarkar dies, Vinayak's mother makes the decision to leave the village with him and Sadashiv, but Vinayak is eager to learn about the hidden gold and asks the demon for help. Accidentally, Sadashiv dies, and Vinayak promises his mother he would never go back to Tumbbad as they leave the village. 

A tree has grown on the demon's body, and fourteen years later, a grown-up Vinayak who is looking for wealth in Tumbbad because he is in debt notices that she is still alive. The demon then tells Vinayak about the hidden treasure, which leads to the goddess' womb where Hastar is sleeping. The Demon warns Vinayak that if he touches the gold, he would become cursed like her and will have to provide her with salvation. Vinayak has been stealing gold from Wada for years, but as he gets older and less active, he begins to educate his son to do the same.

Mythological Aspect

Source: ScoopWhoop

Despite Tumbbad's assumption that Hastar is a Hindu god, there is no record of Hastar appearing in Indian mythology. This truth fits nicely with the movie's mythology, since the Gods, stipulated that Hastar's name be completely forgotten in exchange for his life being spared.

It's also noteworthy that the legend of Hastar being overthrown by his family has parallels to the Titans, the ancient gods in Greek mythology who came before the Olympians. Born of the goddess of plenty from Tumbbad, Gaia, is the Greek representation of the Earth Mother. However, although Cronus was the titans' king and was ultimately overthrown by Zeus, his son, Hastar appeared to be an exile from the Titans.

Mammon, whose story is told in the New Testament of the Bible, is another mythical character who parallels Hastar. Mammon, the deity of materials, is named after the Hebrew word for money. Mammon is either shown or alluded to as an entity that offers material wealth, arousing greed.

Does Tumbbad Exist in reality?

Tumbbad does indeed exist. It might not appear in the same way as it does in the Sohum Shah-Aanand L Rai film, but it is present in Ratnagiri's Khed district in Maharashtra's Konkan region. 

Although the movie didn't provide a true account of Tumbbad Village, the setting for the novel Tumbadche Khot by renowned Marathi author Shripad Narayan Pendse was the village itself. The journey of several generations of the same family is followed in both the movie and the book, which are both set in Tumbad village.

Personal Verdict 

Source: ScoopWhoop

Tumbbad is a psychological horror and what makes it exceptional is its screenplay and unique storyline. If you are a film buff and an adamant lover of the horror genre then Tumbbad is worth watching. It's not the kind of movie you just watch once; instead, each time you watch it, you might discover minute details about the plot. Tumbbad should be avoided by anyone who finds Blood and gore cinema disturbing.

My rating for the movie is 4 on 5 

You can watch Tumbbad on Amazon Prime.

Written By – Riya Dabas

Edited by - Kritika Sharma