Sohum Shah On Filming Tumbbad: "I Swear To Never To Produce A Film Again"

Tumbbad, the 2018 horror-thriller, re-released in theatres on Friday, September 13. Upon its inception, almost six years ago, the film received several accolades and was praised by fans and critics. Did you know that the making of Tumbbad took a mental toll on the film’s lead actor and producer, Sohum Shah? He revealed that the process was so exhausting that he almost decided to give up producing films. Sohum said, “Iss film ke dauharan mein itna thak gya thha. Ajay-Atul ne film ka ek gana kiya thha. Main unke paas baitha huun, woh gaan bana rahe hai, koi baat chal padhi aur mei rone lag gya. Maine kaha ‘yaar mai kasam khata huun, dobara kabhi film produce nahi karunga.’ (During this film, I was so tired. Ajay-Atul composed a song for the movie. I was sitting near him, they were making the song, there was some discussion and I started crying. I said, ‘I swear to never to produce a film again’),” during a conversation with Ranveer Allahbadia.

 ohum Shah added, “Itna thak gaya na, ki aap kisi se mil rahe ho release ke liye, aap apne ideas push kar rahe ho, aap logon tak film banana chahte ho aur itna thaka deta hai woh process toh mai rone laga. Toh unhone mujhe chai pilaya, paranthe khilaya aur bola ki ‘Sab thik ho jayega’. Toh ho gya, uske baad phir mei produce karne laaga, kanhi ruka nahi. (I got so tired, that you are meeting someone for the release, you are pushing your ideas, you want to make a film for the people. And that process wears you down so much, that I started crying. So they gave me tea, offered paranthas and said, ‘Everything will be fine’. So it happened and then I started producing again. I did not stop.)” 

Directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Tumbbad received eight nominations at the 64th Filmfare Awards winning three trophies for Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Sound Design. It was the first Indian film to be screened at the 75th Venice International Film Festival for the Critics’ Week section. Tumbbad also featured Dhundiraj Prabhakar Jogalekar, Jyoti Malshe,  Madhav Hari, Harsh K, Piyush Kaushik and Rudra Soni in crucial roles. The film was collaboratively produced by Sohum Shah Films, Eros International, Colour Yellow Productions, Filmgate Films and Film i Vast.