Tumbbad: The dichotomy of man. The descent into chaos.

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My friends had told me to watch this movie. And I did, without biasing myself by reading about it. And I was mind - blown. Tumbbad is a 2018 Hindi movie set from the 1918 to 1947 in and around Tumbbad village in Maharashtra, India. Along with the arc of our pre - Independence era to liberation from the soulless drug cartel looting our country, this story traces the journey of 3 generations of a family who has built a temple for "Hastar", first born of the Goddess of prosperity. Spawned before the 16 crore Gods and Goddesses, Hastar is cursed as he wanted all the grain and gold bestowed by the Goddess. While he was able to lay his hands on the gold, his siblings stopped him before his greed could touch the grain, rendering him hungry and ostracized. Trailer.

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In my all- time favorite movie, The Matrix, Agent Smith delivers this mind - bending monologue which is 100% gold:

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Tumbbad is also talking about the same topic in it's own way. Each one of us, once the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing are acquired, do not stop consuming until we've raped the earth upside down. A rampage, an orgy to mine the shit out of everything, snuff the life out of all life forms and dump the world's waste to the oceans. Beautiful plan. Nothing is ever "enough". Our decadence, lust and greed know no end. No wonder, like this unclassifiable movie, Agent Smith has trouble classifying our species.

Like how the solo of a song is the part most sacred to be uttered, this movie speaks to us through the recurring motifs of greed and lust, distilled through the generations. What you see is not what you get. I love it when we are prodded to think, rather than "watch something keeping out brain outside the theater". With Tumbbad we're blessed with a lot to cogitate over. Like the duality of the Goddess of prosperity and Hastar. And how we've inherited the same traits in varying degrees. Most importantly, about how we're blessed to be in a bountiful earth, and that man's unlimited greed is a one - way ticket to hell. We see these manifestations in the young boy and his brother, the man and his wife and so on. 

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When I think of the word "atmospheric", I'll remember this movie. The imagery created induced a trance - like state in me. I cannot imagine how amazing the experience of watching this on the big screen would have been. The camerawork is out of the world! And I read that most of the light sources used were natural, which may be why the movie looks like a dream to me. The play between light and the darkness is jaw - dropping here. The acting is top - notch, right from kids to all the lead characters. I also read that the movie was made over a 6 - year period, redoing things until the makers vision was achieved.

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You should watch this movie if you want to think, and want to explore metaphors, I feel. You should definitely watch it if you appreciate a beautiful tapestry of images and want to be immersed in a visually stunning work of art.

What are your thoughts about this movie?

(Thanks, Krips, for the insights and for proofreading ;) )

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