Tumbbad is a 2018 Hindi-language folk horror film directed by Rahi Anil Barve. Anand Gandhi served as the creative director, while Adesh Prasad was the co-director. The screenplay was written by Mitesh Shah, Prasad, Barve, and Gandhi. Produced by Sohum Shah, Aanand L. Rai, Mukesh Shah, and Amita Shah, the film stars Sohum Shah as Vinayak Rao and centers on his quest for a hidden treasure in the village of Tumbbad, Maharashtra. The film has garnered a cult following over time.

Director Rahi Anil Barve began working on the script inspired by a story told to him by a friend in 1993, originally written by Marathi author Narayan Dharap. Barve wrote the first draft in 1997, at the age of 18. He developed a 700-page storyboard between 2009 and 2010. The film was picked up by seven production companies, but production faced several delays and setbacks. Initially shot in 2012, the film underwent significant revisions before reshooting was completed in May 2015. Pankaj Kumar handled the cinematography, Sanyukta Kaza was the editor, and Jesper Kyd composed the original score, with Ajay–Atul contributing one song.

Tumbbad premiered in the Critics' Week section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, marking the first Indian film to be showcased there. It was also featured at the 2018 Fantastic Fest, Sitges Film Festival, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, El Gouna Film Festival, 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala, Morbido Film Fest, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, and Nitte International Film Festival. Released on October 12, 2018, the film received critical acclaim for its story, production design, and cinematography. With a production budget of ₹50 million (US$600,000), it earned ₹136 million (US$1.6 million) at the box office, proving to be a successful venture. Tumbbad received eight nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards, winning three for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Sound Design.

Plot Vinayak Rao recounts to his son Pandurang the tale of the Goddess of Prosperity, who represents eternal gold and grain and is the mother of all gods. Her first descendant, Hastar, consumed all her gold, but was punished by the other gods when he attempted to consume the grain. The Goddess saved Hastar by concealing him in her womb, with the condition that he would be forgotten. However, the villagers of Tumbbad built a shrine for Hastar, which led the gods to curse the village with incessant rain.

In 1918, Vinayak’s mother, who is the mistress of the local ruler Sarkar, hopes to gain a share of his hidden fortune. Vinayak and his brother Sadashiv live with an elderly woman chained in a separate room. After Sadashiv is injured, their mother takes him for treatment, leaving Vinayak alone. He attempts to feed the elderly woman, who escapes and tries to attack him. Vinayak invokes Hastar’s name to put her to sleep. With both Sarkar and Sadashiv dying, Vinayak and his mother leave for Pune.

Fifteen years later, Vinayak returns to Tumbbad, determined to escape poverty. The elderly woman is still alive, with a tree growing from her body, and offers to reveal Sarkar’s secret treasure if Vinayak ends her suffering. She leads him to the Goddess’s womb inside Sarkar's mansion, instructing him to retrieve the treasure. Inside the womb, Hastar, starved for ages due to being denied the Goddess’s grain, is found. Vinayak enters the womb with a rope and draws a circle of flour for protection. He lures Hastar with a flour mixture doll, steals gold coins from Hastar’s loincloth, and quickly escapes. Vinayak burns the woman and repeatedly returns to Tumbbad to collect more coins, selling them to his friend and moneylender Raghav, who becomes curious about Vinayak’s newfound wealth. Raghav follows Vinayak to Tumbbad and is tricked into entering the Goddess's womb with a dough doll, where Hastar attacks him, and Vinayak burns him to end his suffering.

In 1947, consumed by greed and leading a deteriorating family life, Vinayak trains his son Pandurang to retrieve Hastar’s coins and takes him to Tumbbad, cautioning him against bringing a dough doll. Pandurang brings one anyway, provoking Hastar’s attack, but they narrowly escape. Vinayak discovers that Sarkar's mansion has been taken over by the new government of independent India. Hoping to secure as much gold as possible before losing the mansion, Pandurang suggests taking Hastar’s entire loincloth by luring him with multiple dough dolls. This plan fails as Hastar multiplies into several clones within the womb, trapping them. As a last resort, Vinayak surrounds himself with the dolls and confronts Hastar and his clones, allowing Pandurang to escape. Once outside the womb, Pandurang encounters Vinayak, now cursed, who offers him Hastar’s loincloth. Pandurang refuses, puts Vinayak to sleep by invoking Hastar’s name, burns him, and leaves Tumbbad.

Cast

• Sohum Shah as Vinayak Rao
• Dhundiraj Prabhakar Jogalekar as young Vinayak
• Harsh K as Hastar
• Jyoti Malshe as Vinayak's mother
• Rudra Soni as Sadashiv
• Madhav Hari Joshi as Sarkar
• Piyush Kaushik as Grandmother
• Anita Date-Kelkar as Vaidehi (Vinayak's wife)
• Deepak Damle as Raghav
• Cameron Anderson as Sergeant Cooper
• Ronjini Chakraborty as Vinayak's mistress
• Mohammad Samad as Pandurang