When Tumbbad was released, it struck a chord in the minds of people not only due to its eerie narrative based on Indian mythology but also because of the impressive visuals showcasing early 20th-century rural Maharashtra. The setting of this movie is as much a character as the actors themselves, drenched in incessant rains and gloom. For designers and architects, Tumbbad is a treasure trove of inspiration wherein architecture turns important to enhance the mood and depth of the story.
A Viewing Guide PART I:
A Viewer’s Guide Tumbbad opens in a small village, which seems to be stuck in time, where the sun is a rare visitor and the rain never stops. The relentless downpour seeps into the very fibre of the movie, informs the lives of the characters, and the architecture that surrounds them. The main setting of the movie, the decaying mansion, is an ode to times of yore as the stone walls and wooden beams give in slowly and sooner to the passage of time, which is always stealthy. The architecture-or rather, the degradation-tells the story alongside that of several decades. The once grand mansion disintegrates and reflects the disintegration in the moral and financial state of the family. This is portrayed not only by the narrative but by the detailing of the mansion’s architecture as well, which makes it a silent witness to the terrors unfolding under its roof.
Architectural Elements in Tumbbad
1. The Decaying Mansion:
This is quintessentially what the mansion in Tumbbad shows for how structures could reflect the thematic elements of a story.In this case, its traditional Maharashtrian design also says a whole lot about times of prosperity with heavy stone walls, elaborate wood carvings, and sprawling courtyards. As time progresses, as the story does, these same structural building blocks start to decay, reflecting the decay of the fortunes of the family. For an architect, this acts like a strong reminder that the physical state of a building can mirror or represent the internal state of its inhabitants.
2. Play of Light and Shadow:
One of the main features that make Tumbbad strike a chord is its masterful use of light and shadow.
Most of the interiors in the movie are dark, and the only lights operating are those from fluttering lamps or pieces of sun breaking through dark clouds. It has been used very effectively to play with the elements of light and darkness, creating an atmosphere of dread and foreboding. The underlying factor here is that lighting plays a very important role in setting up the mood of a space for designers. Due care in the lighting of a scene can evoke the feelings of comfort, uneasiness, or mystery.
3. Typical Maharashtrian Architecture:
Tumbbad is steeped in the architectural traditions of rural Maharashtra.
Some film locations include wadas, which are low, single-story, age-old Maharashtrian houses that also sport characteristic courtyards, thick stone walls, and sloping tiled roofs. These features are not just backdrops but an integral part of the film’s narrative, which places a supernatural tale into a very real world. For designers, this is a wonderful case study in terms of the way traditional architecture can be used as a storytelling device to bring place and time into view.
4. Wada Layout:
The central mansion is designed in the traditional ‘Wada’ style, common in Maharashtra.
Wadas are large, multi level houses built around an open courtyard and are typically occupied by the well-off. In Tumbbad, the architecture of the wada, with its dark corridors, hidden rooms, and open courtyards, almost becomes a character in the story. The architecture isn’t just a backdrop; rather, it is a big part of the storytelling, and the building’s hidden spaces and rotting structure add to the mystery and tension evoked in the movie.
5. The Element of Water:
Water in Tumbbad is both a literal and metaphorical element.This incessant rain influences the characters’ daily existence as much as it does in terms of architecture: the buildings are decaying under unending dampness; the set is living, breathing, or rotting and moulding. This use of water as an architectural feature is a brilliant example of how natural forces can be brought into design in order to reflect the story’s themes. It serves designers by being a lesson about how the environment can be utilised in shaping the narrative of a space.
Lessons for Designers
Tumbbad is one of those films that show just how the use of architecture and design can be put to better use in telling a story. The settings aren’t just a backdrop in this film but an intrinsic part of the story. That decaying mansion, its crumbling walls, dark spaces, is itself not a location but a character, foreboding with the slotha slow, inevitable decay of everything inside its precincts. For a designer, there are a bunch of takeaways from Tumbbad:.
It first talks about how the film shows the importance of understanding the cultural and historic background of architectural elements. In the case of the movie, traditional Maharashtrian architecture is used but not for visual appeal but rather to establish the setting of time and place, thus helping build on the supernatural element within the story. The second point is how this film really outlines the amount of power involved in using light and shadow to set the atmosphere. Whether it be in movie making or real design, careful manipulation of light can completely change the mood and sense of a room. Last but not least, Tumbbad reminds us that architecture is never completely static. Buildings, much like their human counterparts, are susceptible to the processes of time, nature, and human ambition. As designers, we must always consider how these processes will affect the structures we design, not now, but at some point in the future.
Conclusion: Tumbbad—The Everlasting Fable of Architecture
Eventually, Tumbbad is not a horror film but a film about human greed, time, and spaces.
The architecture of the film stands as a silent witness to the erosion of values, the posteffect of unhealed desires, and the eventual decay. As an architect or designer, the viewing of Tumbbad becomes not only an appreciation of the aesthetics but, more so, how path breaking space and structure influence a narrative. It begs us to question how we design spaces and how those spaces, in turn, shape the stories of those who would inhabit them.
References:
- Abolhasani, M., & Poursaee, A. (2020). The Role of Architecture in Cinema: Creating Atmosphere through Space and Design. Journal of Media and Architecture, 5(2), 45-60.
- Mody, P. (2019). The Cinematic Language of Tumbbad: A Visual and Architectural Analysis. Film Architecture Review, 3(1), 12-28.
- Deshpande, S. (2018). Traditional Wada Architecture in Maharashtra: A Study of Spatial Layout and Cultural Significance. Indian Journal of Architectural Heritage, 4(4), 32-48.
- Kapoor, A. (2018). The Influence of Indian Mythology on Modern Cinema: The Case of Tumbbad. Journal of Film Studies, 22(3), 64-78.
