He sold his property to produce horror film with no-name actors, which flopped badly. Eight years later, the film's sequel is starring Bollywood superstar

In 2018, a chilling folk horror film hit the big screens. Although, Tumbbad did not set the box-office on fire, the movie received rave reviews and have become a cult film over the years. However, the story of how actor-producer Soham Shah almost went bankrupt in making of the film is also inspiring in it’s own right. Tumbbad has been in the news recently as creators announced that the sequel would be headlined by Alia Bhatt.

In a chat with the PTI in 2018, Shah said it took precisely seven years to make Tumbbad and he had to sell off his property to make the movie.

"I sold off my property to make 'Tumbbad' and I don't regret it. I have lost money in this line (film industry) but I don't make films for money. That (financial) security is very important for me. I never had that tension about 'Where will I live? Where will my rent come from?' It was all sorted right from the start. "I gave seven years of my life to 'Tumbbad'... I know that even if I'm not here, 'Tumbbad' will continue to live on. It's great that we are talking about it even after six years. I believe people will talk about it even more in 10 years from now. I'm from real estate and 'Tumbbad' has been a good investment,"


The movie was made on a budget of Rs 10 crore and gained Rs 15 crore during it’s initial release. It earned an impressive Rs 38 crore on it’s re-release in 2024.

Set in a rural village in Maharashtra, the Hindi film follows Vinayak Rao (Shah), whose relentless pursuit of a legendary hidden treasure gradually consumes him with greed and obsession. His dangerous quest leads him to confront Hastar, a sinister supernatural entity believed to guard the cursed fortune, drawing him deeper into a world of fear, temptation, and devastating consequences.