A very good example of what Bollywood can do outside of its usual norms. A mix of folklore, horror, thriller and historical movie.

Vinayak grows up in a manor where a fabled treasure is hidden, though nobody found it. Coming back as an adult he finds it. However he seems to go back and forth between the city and the manor and only brings back a few gold coins at a time. The main story and mystery part focuses on how he's getting his gold coins. And the reveal of the whole ritual is amazing.

[spoiler]Get at the bottom of the well in the manor's courtyard. There's a corridor with another fortified well at the end. There you enter the goddess' womb. Get down there, draw a protective salt circle. Bring a doll made of flour. As soon as the doll is revealed, Hastar appears. He can't get into the circle, which is great because a simple touch will change you into an undead. Give him the doll, and while he's eating it, quickly spill some coins from his satch and pick them up, but remember, no touching. Then get the hell out of here before he's finished.[/spoiler]

The whole movie looks really good. The light work and almost constant rain creates a great gloomy mood. But the womb part... just amazing. It's just the right mix of creepy, disgusting, fantastic and realistic. It fits perfectly. Not only the decor but also Hastar himself.

The rest of the story, with his wife, his kid, his mistress, the opium dealer trying to find the secret are basically fillers here, but it's short and diverse enough to make it an interesting complement to the story and not be annoying. This actualy creates a different focus on the womb sequeces, it's a great choice. The relationship with his kid is weird though. You're not really sure if he's useless and Vinayak is going to sacrifice him, or if the kid will try to take his father's place or whether he will just fuck it up.

The final part, when the kids suggests to steal the satchel instead of a few coins, feels a lot like it's going a goose that laid golden eggs way and ends up totally different where [spoiler]every doll they bring generates an instance of Hastar[/spoiler]. That's one of the best twist I've seen in a while. Not only is it surprising and interesting but it doesn't disrupt what we already know, it doesn't come out of nowhere and actually feels quite logical. After all, Hastar [spoiler]only appears when you show a doll, and there's nothng telling that it's the same Hastar every time you get in the womb. After all the satchel is not limitless, maybe it would have emptied by then.[/spoiler].

That's also a strength of the movie. Despite being obviously fantastic, the whole thing is actually coherent and makes sense. Every thing that is done to get the gold has its explanation, as well as the weird monster grandmother, up until the final twist.

This is a great, original, masterfully directed and shot story. Incredible for a first film. I'm eagerly waiting for his next ones.

A **very** atypical Hindi film in that it is both a fantasy and a horror. It is a well-told fable about greed. Totally worth the watch!

When your director is also the writer (Rahi Anil Barve), you have a cohesive vision of the project. You add a brilliant DOP (Pankaj Kumar) and you have a brilliant experience like Tumbbad.

This was forever on my list, and now finally have seen it, I instantly regret not watching it on a big screen when it was released.

Tumbbad is a story-driven experience. In the mysterious town of Tumbbad, where it always rains, there is an old mansion (vada). It holds a terrifying secret that very few are aware of and it has to do with all the gold in this world. Saying anything else would be risking spoilers.

This was a long journey for the team which started from even finding a producer who could back this director's vision without forcing changes citing Indian audience preferences. The rain scenes of Tumbbad alone took 4 monsoons of on-location shoots. Then there were iterations of the main antagonist too which overall needed 2+ years of post-production alone.

I am always a big fan of movies where the writer gets the free hand. Here Rahi had this story ready for quite some time. The spooky atmosphere is heavily inspired by the works of Narayan Dharap, a prominent Marathi horror writer with 100+ books under his name. In one of the interviews, Rahi mentioned that the story could be adapted to any other culture/language and it can then transform organically as their own story.

Apart from DOP and screenplay, the movie does a brilliant job in the sound department. Jesper Kyd, the guy behind some Hitman and Assassin's Creed games, provided the very essence of atmospheric soundscape the movie needed. There is a song composed by Ajay Atul, which fades in comparison to the indo-western soundstage Jesper has set up. This is another unique thing about the film where sound is the first citizen and not an afterthought once all the catchy songs are made. Further kudos to the director for sticking to his guts about not compromising by introducing item numbers, or more songs in general (yes, he was asked to do so by some Indian producers)

With many areas of the film being spectacular, it fairs well even with mediocre acting. There aren't any known faces in the film and overall the acting department is shortchanged. The main lead is also the producer of the film.

Tumbbad's worldbuilding deserves praise. The myth is well fortified. I could not find plot holes in it, and also there are discussions about it on quora and Reddit etc. Very few Bollywood films can claim such a feat. The last twist worked very well for me.

Made on a production budget of ₹50 million (US$630,000), the film grossed a total of ₹136 million (US$1.7 million) at the box office, making it a profitable venture. I just hope this results in more Indian producers and directors venturing into genres which are not traditionally mainstream.

And more on-location shoots, please. Quite recently I have enjoyed almost all on-location shot films, Newton, Sherni, Anek and now this.

As a unique historical fantasy film coming out of India, ‘Tumbbad’ is a triumph for the filmmakers and a high-point for Hindi horror cinema.
- Jake Watt

Read Jake's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-tumbbad-visually-rich-hindi-horror

Head to https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/revelation for more Revelation Perth International Film Festival reviews.