The horror-thriller Tumbbad didn’t get much love at the time of its release but it became a cult classic over the years and emerged a massive success on its re-release last year. Sohum Shah officially announced a prequel to it soon after and had Alia Bhatt come on board. However, the name of Aanand L Rai, who produced the first part, was missing from credits for the upcoming film.
Ask Aanand L Rai if he is associated with the project and he tells us, “For some reason nahin, aur wo creative reasons hain. What you want is a certain kind of freedom to make decisions when you are creating something. Tumbbad is a fantastic film but I felt like mere liye, wo kahani jitni khoobsurat hoke wahaan pahuchi hui thi, main uske aage nahin jana chah raha tha. But all the best to the team who is making it now. They will make a great film but I keep the decision to myself what film I want to join.” Tumbbad 2 also stars actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui alongside Alia Bhatt. The film is looking for a December 3 release in 2027.
The filmmaker, who is currently basking in the glory of his National Award win for the documentary Statue Of Unity: Ekta Ka Prateek, says while he is happy about the honour, it doesn’t affect his approach to work. “Mujhe mere hisse ka pyaar mil jata hai. Awards and rewards sar aankhon par, but it’s the love and being a vessel of a poignant story is what it’s all about for me. This kind of an award gives you confidence that your existence matters,” he says. Rai received the Best Director award in the non-feature film category for his documentary.
Rai shares that he will start work on his next directorial in 2027 and is looking for a release in 2027 end or in 2028. But he admits that the National Award has motivated him to do more work in the non-feature category. “We need to learn more in the non-feature category. It’s a different form of storytelling and the filmmakers in our industry need to learn a lot more when it comes to this form, and we are doing good. In the coming years, we will have some amazing documentaries come out and it’s important for any country as it explains its foundation and contributes to its history,” he ends.