Tumbbad Review: Finally, A Horror Masterpiece Almost After A Century

RATING - ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨ 4.5/5*

Tumbbad Review on Re-release: 

Horror movies have always been about the horror stuff that is intended to frighten people and nothing else. Yet, a few films went berserk against the traditional notion and managed to leave an impact that will last forever. The oldest my memory can take me to is to films like The Golem (1920), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and then came a masterpiece like Haxan (1922). These are the films that added an extra layer or layers to a traditional horror narrative. It doesn't matter who made traditional and rooted classics like Nosferatu (1922), Frankenstein (1931), and Dracula (1931) and set a template for decades to come, or even when James Whale thought of adding comedy into horror—an odd combo then—with The Old Dark House (1932)—the same way they do now with Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Stree—it can't be ignored that the above-mentioned horror classics are superior by several stages than whatever you see in mainstream horror cinema.

The art of adding multiple layers is not easy, and that's why not many could do it. So, it took world cinema (specifically not just Bollywood) almost a century, 9 decades to be exact, to match the level of "Haxan," which mixed mythological and social references in a horror movie to leave an everlasting impact on the horror genre. Tumbbad broke that curse, which stood for almost a century, by including greed and essential human nature flaws into a horror movie, which is again based on mythological stuff. That's what makes Tumbbad a complete masterpiece—much more than a horror film, for which it is known amongst modern movie buffs.

Mitesh Shah, Adesh Prasad, Rahi Anil Barve, and Anand Gandhi sat together to write one of the best screenplays ever in Bollywood history. Tumbbad has nothing out of the world in its storyline, but definitely makes the screenplay look extraordinary and far above a regular writer's mind. Divided into three parts, the film takes almost halfway to show what the "hastar" actually is. Before that, it's all about verbal hype around that "unseen" character. The curse is set across generations—3 and a half generations to be precise—and in the pre-independence era, making it a perfect metaphor of the real meaning of "freedom," which only happens after "independence." You might remember the "curse of immortal life being worse than death" from Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), when he says "he can't feel anything," and that's exactly what Vaidehi, aka Vinayak's wife, has to say here: "Toh fir kis liye?" Yes, that's exactly the question. All the wealth, lust, and greed, but for what? The film turns this simple question into a big question and finds a simple answer at the end, creating a lifetime philosophy of overcoming "greed" to get real happiness. The visuals and the verbal narration grip you right from the first minute, be it "womb of goddess," "hastar," "granny," "treasure," or "curse"—all these words are so fascinating. The entire 100-minute world of Tumbbad is much more intriguing than any professor's seminar because it feels like a fairytale from Granny, but instead of angles, you have demons. The visualization for the same is breathtaking. It's appalling to learn that this kind of cinematography, color grade, sound mix, and VFX work were achieved at such a low budget by the team. Simply UNBELIEVABLE! The entire technical team of the film deserves a grand salute for their efforts with wonderful results.

The performances are also great here. Sohum Shah, with those lenses in his eyes, looks a killer as a greedy person. He plays two different ages here and does an excellent job in both parts. He is hungry, not parsimonious—that's what puts his character in a complete negative zone, which is essential to complete the film. The curse wasn't supernatural; it was a human curse, and that makes the film very realistic. Anita Date-Kelkar plays his wife, a small role, but with so much conviction. Ronjini Chakraborty is a mistress with no morality or shame—another character that has negative shades—essentially. The entire supporting cast is extremely good, and the child artists are exceptional.

The genius Rahi Anil Barve spent years on this film, and I'd like to tell him that he has done a memorable job. He can retire anytime he wants, and people will still remember him for creating this one unforgettable masterpiece. If I have to name the two best films of bollywood from the 2010-2019's decade, then Anand Gandhi's name will be linked to both films—Tumbbad and Ship of Thesus. When two geniuses, Barve and Gandhi, meet, they are bound to create something astonishing, and Tumbbad is exactly that for me. I don't know how people look at it since almost 95% of the section of movie buffs are unaware of lots of masterpieces from the silent era, which leaves them to take Tumbbad as a visual phenomenon or a frightening horror experience, but for me, with a big heritage of all old movies on my seen list, Tummbad is much more than what others have recognized it for. It's a gamechanger for the horror genre, which has been stuck to a certain kind of entertainment and commercial aspects for over 6-7 decades now. Maybe some day in the future, people will realise it.

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