Sohum Shah Talks About The Folklore Horror Genre: ‘Horror is a comedy with a twist…’

Actor Sohum Shah announced that a sequel to ‘Tumbbad’ is officially underway amid much excitement surrounding the film’s successful re-release in theatres. Upon its re-release, the Sohum Shah starrer broke all previous box office records. The film directed by Rahi Anil Barve, narrates the story of a Vinayak Rao’s quest in the town of Tumbbad for a lost treasure from the 20th century.

In an exclusive interview with ABP Live, speaking of the re-release of the film and the audiences’ response on social media, Sohum said, “Mujhe toh lagta hai logo ke liye event film ban gayi hai, matlab log ye baat kar rahe hai ki main toh khushnaseeb tha I had seen it then. Koi kahe hai maine toh li thi par ab maza ayega ab theatre mein dekhne ka mauka milega. Toh logo ke liye it is not a film, its an event film. Aur logo ne realised kar liya tha ki iss film ko theatre mein dekhte toh bohot maza aata. Kyuki film banayi bhi waise gayi hai; that’s why it took six years (I feel like the film has become an event for people. They are talking about how lucky they were to have watched it the first time. Some are saying that they Watched it before, but now the real fun will be in getting to see it in theatres. So for people, it’s not just a movie, it’s an event film. And people have realized that watching this film in theaters would have been an incredible experience. Because the film was made that way, that’s why it took six years.)”

Recently, Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao starrer ‘Stree 2’, sequel to 2018 film ‘Stree’, broke many box office records. Another folklore-horror ‘Munjya’ also garnered praise for its compelling plot. However, the ‘Tumbbad’ actor stressed on how it is different from the other folklore-horror films.

“The landscape of India has changed so much. I am from Hindi medium. For me, English was Danav, Rakshah. But for today’s child, English medium school is very easy. He has studied in English medium, he has explored Netflix, what is Game of Thrones, what is Lord of the Rings. So he can relate to this kind of cinema. He does not enjoy far-fetched cinema in which he does not see depth or craftsmanship. So I definitely feel that our audience is changing at a very fast pace. So these kind of films are still continuing by mixing horror with comedy. I feel that once upon a time The time will come when you don’t need such things. Aap purity se kahan sakte ho, uske liye audience hai (The landscape of India has changed so much; I come from a Hindi-medium background. For me, English was like a demon, a monster. But for today’s kids, attending an English-medium school is very easy. They’ve studied in English-medium schools, they’ve explored Netflix, they know what Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings are. So they can relate to this kind of cinema. They don’t enjoy other types of cinema. Where they don’t see depth or craftsmanship. For these kinds of films, even now, I feel that a time will come when you won’t need such blends, and there will be an audience for that.

Now, the much-awaited sequel of the horror flick is set to hit screens. Sohum Shah shared a teaser of the trailer on X (formerly Twitter), along with the caption, “Pralay Aayega.”

The teaser begins with a voiceover by Vinayak Rao, “Samay ka pahiya gol hai, jo beet gaya woh hamesha laut ke aata hai” (Life moves in circles. What goes around, comes around).

#TUMBBAD2. deluge will come#AdeshPrasad #AnkitJain #AmitaShah #MukeshShah pic.twitter.com/bqItlWqzWL

— Sohum Shah (@s0humshah) September 14, 2024

There is currently no word on release date of ‘Tumbbad 2’, and the plot is still under wraps. But reportedly the sequel will expand on the story of the first movie. It will dig into ideas of immortality and carry on the story through Vinayak’s son Pandurang.