TUMBBAD (2018 - Hindi)

Studio:      Eros International
Director:    Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi, Adesh Prasad
Writer:      Mitesh Shah, Adesh Prasad, Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi
Producer:  Sohum Shah, Anand Gandhi, Mukesh Shah, Mitesh Shah
Stars:     Sohum Shah, Jyoti Malsh, Deepak Damle, Anita Date, Ronjini Chakraborty, Mohd Samad

Review Score:

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Summary:

An ancient curse plagues a greedy man’s family in unfathomable ways across four decades of India’s history.

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Synopsis:     Show/Hide Spoilers

In 1947, Vinayak Rao tells his 14-year-old son Pandurang about the Goddess of Plenty. Vinayak explains that the goddess birthed 160 million gods, but Hastar was her most beloved offspring. However, Hastar was greedy and gluttonous, and wanted all of the goddess’ gold and food for himself. The other gods attacked Hastar, but the goddess saved him on the condition that he could never be worshipped and would be forgotten by history. Vinayak goes on to explain that their people built a shrine that woke up Hastar. Although the village of Tumbbad became plagued with rain, Vinayak’s family was able to benefit from Hastar’s curse provided they were willing to risk venturing into the goddess’ womb in the earth where Hastar dwells.

Chapter One – 1918 – Tumbbad Village, Western India

While their mother pleasures local lord Sarkar in his mansion hoping to one day acquire a single gold coin kept with his Hastar statue, Vinayak and his brother Sadashiv worry about having to feed their monstrous grandmother who is chained in a separate room of their home. The boys’ mother returns home in time to stop Sadashiv from getting close to the old woman.

Sarkar dies. Mother proposes finally leaving Tumbbad for Pune City, but Vinayak insists on finding the treasure that is rumored to be hidden somewhere in the mansion they inherited.

Sadashiv becomes badly hurt after falling from a tree, forcing Mother to take him for help. Mother tells Vinayak he will have to feed his grandmother. She also warns that if the old woman wakes up, Vinayak should say the name Hastar to make her sleep.

Sadashiv dies on the way to the doctor. Although grieving, Mother directs her carriage driver to Sarkar’s mansion where she retrieves the gold coin.

The monstrous old woman attacks and shackles Vinayak in preparation for eating him. Vinayak eventually remembers Hastar’s name and uses it to make his grandmother fall asleep.

Mother gives Vinayak the gold coin he always wanted. Vinayak suggests torturing the old woman into telling them where the mansion’s true treasure is hidden. Mother accuses Vinayak of being greedy like his father and forces him to promise never to return to Tumbbad.

Chapter Two – Fifteen Years Later

Desperate to escape his life of poverty, Vinayak returns to Tumbbad to find a tree growing out of his monstrous grandmother in their former home. The old woman warns that if Vinayak goes after the treasure hidden in the mansion’s well, he will be cursed to become a monster like her.

The old woman ultimately explains that the well leads to the goddess’ womb where Hastar dwells. Although Hastar stole the goddess’ gold, he was unable to acquire her grain. Therefore, Hastar desires flour, but can also be repelled by it when flour is used to make a circle of protection.

Vinayak physically trains to climb up and down a long rope. Vinayak also starts making dolls out of dough that he uses to lure Hastar while in the goddess’ womb. While Hastar is distracted by the food, Vinayak swipes at Hastar’s loincloth containing the goddess’ gold. Vinayak regularly repeats the procedure to steal dropped coins from Hastar.

After several weeks, Vinayak honors his grandmother’s wish to finally be free and sets her on fire. Vinayak then returns home to his wife in Pune City.

Vinayak offers his first gold coin to opium merchant Raghav to pay off a debt. Each time he needs more money, Vinayak returns to Tumbbad to steal from Hastar. Raghav openly wonders about the treasure rumored to exist in the Tumbbad mansion while also questioning why Vinayak can only retrieve a few coins at a time.

Sergeant Cooper pressures Raghav about acquiring his opium den permit per a previous arrangement they made. Looking for a way out of the deal, Raghav asks Vinayak about becoming business partners. Vinayak declines, but notes that his friend appears worried about something.

Vinayak and his wife give birth to their son Pandurang. Vinayak also begins living a luxurious lifestyle.

When Sergeant Cooper gives him only two days to come through, Raghav sells his widowed daughter-in-law to Vinayak as a mistress. The mistress confesses to Vinayak that Raghav paid her to make sure Vinayak stays in Pune City for two days.

Vinayak follows Raghav to the Tumbbad mansion. Vinayak tricks Raghav into descending into Hastar’s well to look for gold. Hastar viciously attacks Raghav.

Vinayak goes into the well to find Raghav painfully disfigured and absorbed into the wall of the goddess’ womb. Raghav implores Vinayak to release him. Vinayak invokes Hastar’s name to make Raghav sleep. Hastar appears. Vinayak distracts Hastar with a dough doll and steals several dropped coins. Vinayak sets Raghav on fire as he climbs the rope back to the surface.

Chapter Three – Fourteen Years Later – 1947, Independent India

Pandurang practices knocking coins from a dummy and collecting them within a time limit. When his father deems him ready, Vinayak takes Pandurang to Tumbbad and explains Hastar’s legend as well as their family’s relationship to his curse.

Outside the mansion, Vinayak teaches Pandurang how to make dough dolls. He then takes the boy into the well to practice the procedure for stealing from Hastar, which includes making flour circles for protection.

Once in the goddess’ womb, Pandurang reveals that he brought a dough doll with him. Hastar unexpectedly attacks. While his father is only concerned with escaping, Pandurang manages to steal several coins. Vinayak and Pandurang make it to safety, though Vinayak chides his son for nearly getting them killed.

Back at home, Vinayak learns from Raja Sahib that the Indian government took possession of Tumbbad as part of the country’s independence. Vinayak also learns that the government is planning to raze the mansion to build a new village.

Pandurang presents one of his stolen coins to Vinayak’s mistress hoping to impress her. Vinayak beats the boy when he finds out about his bragging. Pandurang stops his father by proposing that they steal Hastar’s entire loincloth instead of simply swiping several coins at a time.

Vinayak and Pandurang make dozens of dough dolls for distracting Hastar before returning to the well. However, the two of them become trapped inside the goddess’ womb when a separate Hastar appears for each one of the dolls they brought. With no other hope of escaping, Vinayak ties the dolls to his body to act as bait. Vinayak climbs the rope. Dozens of Hastars burst into flames as they come into contact with the protection circles while pursuing him.

Once the coast is clear, Pandurang climbs back up to the surface. Pandurang finds his father mutated into a monstrous form outside the mansion. Vinayak present the stolen loincloth, but Pandurang refuses to take it. Sobbing at seeing what his father turned into, Pandurang reluctantly sets Vinayak on fire. He then invokes Hastar’s name to put his father to sleep.

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Review:

I almost avoided “Tumbbad.” A delicate balance exists between movies I want to see and movies an audience wants to read about. And having operated a genre movie review site since 2013, I can tell you, foreign language films simply do not drive traffic.

Whenever trades announce an English-language remake of a popular foreign film, cinephiles take the opportunity to decry Americanization and dub anyone who dislikes subtitles as a philistine. “Just watch the original,” they exclaim.

It’s a deaf ear demand. Perhaps sad but no less true, many people just won’t expend the extra effort to deal with reading while watching a movie.

That fact can influence what films I cover. Given the choice between an Estonian arthouse haunter and a slasher franchise sequel, I’m taking the one that won’t result in content destined to collect digital cobwebs within two days of posting.

Limiting myself to just one of the two features playing night three of Screamfest 2018, I had a choice between “Tumbbad” and “Lost in Apocalypse.” If one of those options were made stateside, the decision would have been a no-brainer. But with the latter in Mandarin and the former in Hindi, I had to watch both trailers and do perfunctory research to determine which one was more likely to be buzzed about in the horror community.

“Lost in Apocalypse” appeared to have a fairly familiar take on zombie fiction as well as a shorter runtime. Paired with a short, “Tumbbad” promised to run two hours and seemed to be a complex period piece involving Hindu mythos, metaphors, and melodrama spanning 30 years. In short, “Lost in Apocalypse” looked to be the safer bet for something that would be widely available on a streaming service in the near future, not to mention easier to dissect as far as writing a review goes.

Then I asked myself, what would I select if I weren’t worried about workload? Do I really want another undead epidemic yarn, or should I roll the dice on something potentially more intellectually and emotionally challenging, even if it means more work and fewer hits? Shouldn’t my motivation be to look outside obvious channels for movies that need more exposure?

Concerns about clicks and time taken to compile notes went out the window. All other considerations being irrelevant, the intriguing trailer told me I wanted to see “Tumbbad.” Instead of my business-minded head, I went with my horror-loving heart. Although I’m currently ignorant of what “Lost in Apocalypse” offers, I’m certain I made the correct call. Had I heard about “Tumbbad’s” greatness secondhand, I would have kicked myself for not experiencing its bone-shaking sounds and incredibly stunning visuals on the biggest screen possible. “Tumbbad” turned out to be engrossing and exhilarating, and I can’t imagine it being outmatched in the realm of Indian genre cinema.

“Tumbbad” begins by briefly recounting the legend of the Goddess of Plenty and her favorite son Hastar. No one has heard of Hastar because of a condition requiring him to be stricken from history. Hastar was remembered however, and the villagers who worshipped him unleashed a curse. Daring to confront Hastar can bequeath one with gold, but there may be a consequence of becoming a monster. “Tumbbad” tells the tale of how one family’s desire for Hastar’s riches plagues its descendants for generations.

Inspired by the works of Narayan Dharap, who was apparently inspired by authors such as Stephen King, “Tumbbad” evokes a faint fairy tale feel by essentially being a morality lesson about greed as a cyclical sickness. Don’t let that deliver an impression of “Tumbbad” being preachy, childish, or unnecessarily sentimental. Even though the film stabs at commentary about gender dynamics, social politics, and old-fashioned human nature as seen through India’s evolution across several eras, subtext stays essential to establishing characters and settings so the story has maximum meaningful resonance.

That’s part of the brilliance in how writers Mitesh Shah, Adesh Prasad, Anand Gandhi, and director Rahi Anil Barve smartly structure their script. “Tumbbad” deals in clichés about misers and misogyny, yet balances familiar themes with ample amounts of endearing emotion.

Vinayak, who remains our guide through the movie’s three different decades, marginalizes his wife and physically disciplines his son, yet isn’t portrayed as a stereotypically despicable dad. His abuse is presented as a product of cultural normalcy for its time more than a direct reflection of inherently awful character. Complexities like this instill conflicting feelings about whether to regard characters with empathy or anger, which is a terrific tactic for capturing an audience’s emotional investment.

To say too much about the story’s specifics wouldn’t be right. Not because “Tumbbad” is twisty or particularly involved. Rather, the background is dense enough that getting the uninitiated to square one requires a mouthful of telling when the movie does a dazzling job of showing. Once “Tumbbad” gets set, the rest of the journey is a straight shot through wicked scares, sweeping cinematography, and directly dialed-in performances that refuse disengagement from the sprawling narrative even for an instant.

It takes nearly no time to forget “Tumbbad” is a film and to become fully transported into its fear-filled fable. Production design genuinely drops jaws, with every realistic detail in makeup, costumes, sets, and props adding countless elements to the illusion of complete immersion in another time and place.

A monstrous witch tearing an iron spike from her face to wield as a weapon. A tree growing out of an immobile living corpse. “Tumbbad” contains numerous nightmarish sights never seen before. Some digital demonry reads as the CGI it is, but complemented by the choking claustrophobia of a spectacularly satanic setting where many memorable moments take place, the movie captures distinctly macabre moods to go with the heartbreaking interpersonal drama at its core. On top of Jesper Kyd’s badass score that I couldn’t get out of my head, I didn’t want to leave the beautifully haunting world of “Tumbbad” and its eternally tortured people.

I considered comparing “Tumbbad” to an American equivalent as a point of reference. But likening it to “The Conjuring” or “It” doesn’t come close to delivering an accurate impression of its mesmeric cinematic scope or rich, big budget feel. It’s not “the Indian” anything. Impressive in imagination, ambition, execution, and effectiveness, “Tumbbad” is a distinct behemoth all its own, and deserves to be regarded as such.

“Tumbbad” may be about dangerous desires associated with gluttony and greed, yet there is another important lesson to be learned. Always take a chance on expanding exposure to horror stories from around the globe. You never know when you might find a terrifying treasure as ghoulishly golden as “Tumbbad.”

Review Score: 95

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