Since Tumbad Chi Manjula is set in a village, we know how ghosts are believed to be real there. There are stories everywhere, and then there are boundaries set so that no one upsets those who have already passed away. Yet, people always fear that someone may return to haunt them.
This belief is being misused by Keshav after he is caught peeping into the bathroom of a girl he likes. Now that people believe he is possessed, a tantrik is called to release the spirit. As the entire story is fake, nothing works on Keshav. Even when he tells his family and other villagers that he is now back to normal, the fear is so strong that they claim that he is being possessed repeatedly, regardless of what he says.
While all of this is going on, the tantrik, the family, and the villagers come to the conclusion that a lady named Manjula has possessed Keshav. People then get to know that she has a daughter who might be able to help them understand what her late mother wants and what will make her leave.
The movie, undoubtedly, is a comedy, but after Manjula’s daughter, Shobha, enters the story, we get to see a story that makes it stand out and leave its mark. To be very honest, I have never seen superstition in a positive light, especially when so-called ghosts come into the picture. But Tumbad Chi Manjula managed to do that in a beautiful way. Without questioning anything, the film presents a story that entertains the audience while also connecting with them on an emotional level, without making the story difficult to digest.
To give you a hint, Keshav uses his fake story of being ‘possessed by Manjula’s spirit’ to help Shobha get out of the life she is trapped in, which is traumatising her to the extent that she simply wants to end her life. Shobha’s last hope — her mother’s spirit — Keshav’s humanity, his realisation that what he did was wrong, and the way he uses this realisation to save a traumatised woman’s life are all worth watching.
The performances are also worth mentioning here. The two actors who stand out the most are Om Bhutkar, who plays Keshav, and Sai Tamhankar, who plays Shobha. While Sai has portrayed the character of a scared, lonely village woman exceptionally well, Om had to manage both the comedic and sensitive sides of Keshav, and he did justice to both aspects of his character. If these two actors had failed to portray their characters as intended, the movie could have failed to make an impact.
Where to Watch? Zee5
