Tumbbad Lyricist Raj Shekhar On The Film`s Only Song Amid Its Re-Release
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SEPTEMBER 25,2024
With Bollywood re-releasing some of the iconic movies, Tumbbad continues to garner crazy buzz along with some box-office-shattering collections. The 2018 release marked its comeback on the big screen with Sohum Shah headlining the mythology fiction thriller.
The theatrical re-release of Tumbbad not only gave the production houses but also every artist associated with it a reason to cheer and celebrate.
Even though Rahil Anil Barve's directorial earned immense critical acclaim at the time of its release in 2018, lyricist Raj Shekhar feels the film did not match the love they had anticipated coming their way.
Tumbbad lyricist Raj Shekhar shares interesting anecdotes
The infamous lyricist and songwriter, who penned the film's title track, shared some eyebrow-raising anecdotes and behind-the-scenes stories about the making of the film, why it had only one song, and the response that Tumbbad achieved back in the day.
In an interview, he opened up about the love received during its initial release and said, 'That's why it's heartwarming to see the [overwhelming] response to the second release. The team was so sure that the project would work that they were eager to release it in theaters so that more people could access it.'
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For the uninitiated, Tumbbad revolves around a mysterious mythological fiction that preaches about how greed can make people do things to an unanticipated extent.
It all starts with when a family builds a shrine for Hastar, a devil who is never to be worshipped, and attempts to get their hands on his wealth, they face catastrophic controversies. Headlined by Sohum Shah, the film also stars Jyoti Malshe and Dhundiraj Prabhakar in pivotal roles.
Raj Shekhar on writing Tumbbad's only song
Tasked with writing lyrics for the Ajay-Atul composition, the songwriter recalls being mighty unimpressed with Anand L. Rai's idea of using Sanskrit verses.
'To begin with, the film was not mainstream. On top of that, using Sanskrit would further alienate the audience. So, I wasn't initially in favor of it. However, I later learned that what they were in search of were hymns [that sounded like they were in the language],' he revealed.
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In an attempt to capture the internal turmoil and struggle of the character Vinayak Rao, played by Sohum, Raj Shekharbegan reflected on what he truly wanted to convey with Tumbbad's only song.
'I realized that I had the opportunity to explore the core emotions of the characters via this song and could thereby simplify the viewing experience for the audience. This was crucial, since Vinayak isn't one who talks too much in the film," he reminisced.
Shekhar continued recalling, "So, my words could reveal his way of thinking. As far as the musical technicalities are concerned, this movie is about one's greed for gold. Gold has a metallic sound, so I used rounded and metallic [motifs] for this track. Vinayak is one who is blessed with everything but still lacks something in his life. I wanted to [play the role of a mediator] and lyrically showcase his emotions.'
Tumbbad re-released in theaters on September 13 along with other critically acclaimed Bollywood movies like Veer Zaara and Laila Majnu.