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Filmmaker Rahi Anil Barve is overwhelmed that his much-loved mythological horror epic Tumbbad is getting a re-release. The film, which enjoys a loyal cult following, had opened to rave reviews and eventually became a surprise success in 2018. Now, years, later, the writer-director has shared two diary entries of 2011 and 2012, in which he detailed, in nearly 4,000 words, the 15-year-long backbreaking struggle to mount Tumbbad.
Presented by Eros Now and headlined by Sohum Shah, Tumbbad was directed by Rahi Anil Barve, with Anand Gandhi as the creative director and Adesh Prasad as the co-director. Written by Mitesh Shah, Prasad, Barve, and Gandhi, the film was produced by Sohum Shah, Aanand L. Rai, Mukesh Shah, and Amita Shah. The film also stars Jyoti Malshe and Anita Date-Kelkar. While the first entry is dates back to October 25, 2011, the second is four months apart, February 2, 2012, Rahi said the idea behind sharing these in public domain was to help young director aspiring to make their own film.
The first diary entry begins with Rahi hearing a “banal horror” story by Narayan Dharap, which was narrated to him by his friend when they camped in the forest of Nagzira in 1993. The filmmaker said he doesn’t remember exactly when it became his mission to make a film out of it, but his first ever draft-cum-storyboard came around 1996/97.
“After flunking standard 10, I abandoned conventional education and did countless menial jobs. In jumps, leaps and bound, I had settled completely by the age of 20.” In his 20s, Rahi started earning Rs 50,000 and was marching towards his dream of starting his own animation studio. But something was amiss, as he felt restless despite the wealth and success.
The answer was simple, he wanted to make his own film. He resigned from his high paying job in 2005, and made a short film titled Manjha, which he filmed in December 2006, within eight days of production on a budget of Rs 60,000 by a producer named Shreyas. It was a great platform to then make Tumbbad, but the film was crumbling under the weight of its ambition, there was no producer to back the vision.
“Shreyas sir’s hawk-eyed manager had to agree that after six recces and two months of headbanging, no matter how frugal, Tumbbad’s budget wouldn’t be any lesser than three-and-half crores. Shreyas sir went on a wild goose chase to arrange that amount. Infected by his enthusiasm.
“I braced myself to Tumbbad within six months. Our core team of twenty, brought 150 others on board, and were all over the place. Finally, by July 2008, we fell on our faces so badly, that most of us ache and moan even three and half years after Tumbbad ran into its first stalling.”
“I was at my wits’ end, facing angry teams with stoic patience. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the originally casted Vinayak had come in merely on my word, without a penny in payment, putting in two months of rehearsals. He couldn’t even breathe between his rants and abuses. All efforts came to a naught just one day before our shoot in Saswad. Except for my insane self-confidence, everything was lost.”
This was a time when he had heard about the legend of filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, who was bullish enough to make it on his own despite his endless struggles. He knew he had to ask Kashyap for help, as there was no one else to help him. When Rahi’s short film did reach him, Anurag said, “I haven’t got a penny on me, but I’ll produce Tumbbad, only got to figure how.
Rahi recalled how he was again on an endless trail studio shopping. “My throat went sore with 90-minute long Tumbbad narrations twice a day. The studio execs would listen on dreamily, but would say after the narration, ‘Interesting subject, but see Rahi, for Indian audiences this film can’t work, because blah blah…’ with rehearsed finesse.” All studios were refusing Tumbbad after months of endless meetings and despite a few production houses almost coming on-board, Tumbbad came to a halt again. For the second time.
“Four months later, Anurag sent Manjha to Danny Boyle. He liked it and took it in his Blu Ray edition of Slumdog. Slumdog hit gold at the Oscars, and I basked in unexpected and reflected glory after 18 months again. Capitalising on that goodwill, Anurag’s then legal advisor and counsel for Foxstar brought Fox on board. Finally, I saw clear signs that Tumbbad would finally take off. Anurag borrowed half a million from Mahi and set me up a team of six ADs.
“He was also struggling to finance Vikramaditya Motwane’s Udaan, which UTV chose to produce. The preproduction for Tumbbad and Udaan was in full swing at 40, Aram Nagar.” However, even this fizzled out later as Tumbbad stalled again, for the third time.
On February 2, 2012, Rahi wrote how he had two final meetings with Soham (Shah) and “a big studio” for Tumbbad. The director recalled how he walked in with a 650-page colour storyboard and was narrating Tumbbad for over two hours.
“But, as Vinayak’s dark character unraveled gradually, Sohum’s face began to turn bitter. Sohum was afraid that negative and elderly roles at a young age (the old Vinayak from 1947) would pigeonhole him in similar offers going ahead, and he refused Tumbbad. There might have been other reasons too. Everyone was shocked out of their skins, and so was I.”
The film was stalled again, for the fourth time. But then, a new animation job opportunity knocked Rahi’s doors, which was paying him Rs 25,000. “A voice rang from my deepest depths- ‘Don’t you think its time to give up?’ I said, “Never let go of the dream. The dream merely grows or shrinks in size. The dream is shaped like Tumbbad for now. Keep waiting till the moment arrives, and earn these 25 grand now. Feed yourself first before the next battle, right?”
The director ended the note writing that it took him five more years to make Tumbbad, “but that’s a different story.” He concluded, “It was easy to give up in these fifteen years, but then I wouldn’t have experience the joy I feel today.”
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