With Tumbbad re-releasing in theatres, producer and main lead Sohum Shah hopes that this time the film gets its due credit. The film, which first released in 2018, found its way back onto the big screen on September 13th and opened to a gross of Rs 1.65 crore on its first day.
In an exclusive conversation with NewsX before the re-release, Shah says that he always felt justice was not given to his film.
“I always felt that justice wasn’t given to *Tumbbad*. It did not get the recognition it deserved. We invested 6-7 years into this project, and it is important to me that as many people as possible experience the film. Just like how people speak of Mughal-e-Azam being shot with real diamonds, we waited for it to rain while shooting the film for the cinematography and also managed to find a bus from 1935 for authenticity. All this hard work was put in so that the experience reaches the people. You can’t experience this on OTT. So I want people to watch this film on the big screen and experience it so that it gets what it deserves.”
The story of Tumbbad spans from pre-Independence India to the establishment of the Indian government following the ouster of the British. It tells the tale of a family that builds a shrine for Hastar, a monster who is never to be worshipped. However, things take an unexpected turn when the family attempts to get their hands on Hastar’s cursed wealth.
It is not a “typical horror film,” says Shah, but a “folklore and a simple story saying that greed is evil.”
“This kind of film has not been made in the past in India, so when we don’t know a genre, we tag it under horror. But it is a folklore with a simple message that greed is evil.”
Tumbbad is the latest in an array of old Bollywood films to have been re-released—including Laila Majnu, Veer Zaara, and Gangs of Wasseypur. Asked about the trend of re-releasing old films in theatres, he says, “We are not focusing on writing, which is why audiences aren’t responding well to many new films and are leaning towards old ones. Not many new films have been produced recently, given the rise of OTT platforms. Everything has become expensive now—from the salaries of the stars to their values. So it’s not cost-effective anymore. But re-releasing films is a good step. People will get to watch more films, and it makes producers focus on their content.”
Talking about his decision to re-release his film, Shah says that he was flooded with requests from people to either make a sequel or release the original one once again. He shares, “For the past couple of years, I have been receiving messages from people urging me to either make Tumbbad 2 or re-release the original. However, re-releasing a film is a tough process, given the challenges of marketing and logistics. Lately, the messages started increasing, and people started telling me that they want to watch it. I want the film to reach more people, but it will take a lot of time. This is like fine wine. People will appreciate it more as time goes on. Tumbbad is a very dope film for Gen-Z audiences.”
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Sohum Shah, however, did not let his fans down. Not only did the team re-release the film, but they have also teased a sequel with a new video, which the actor shared on his social media. He also told NewsX during the interview that the shooting will start next year. “Writing (of Tumbbad 2) has been completed, and it took us 6 years to do that. Shooting will start next year, and the release date will be decided following that,” Shah concludes.
Directed by Rahi Anil Barve and creatively guided by Anand Gandhi, the film also stars Jyoti Malshe, Anita Date-Kelkar, Harsha K, Mohammad Samad, and Ronjini Chakraborty in key roles.
