What actually happens
A temple the gods did not approve of
The story opens with a legend. The goddess of prosperity, mother of all the gods, has a greedy son named Hastar who takes all her gold and then goes after her grain. The other gods destroy him, but she hides him in her womb on the condition that he is forgotten. The villagers of Tumbbad build him a temple anyway, so the gods curse the village with rain that never stops. In 1918, young Vinayak and his brother Sadashiv live with their mother, who is the zamindar Sarkar's mistress and wants a share of his hidden treasure. An old woman, supposedly their grandmother, is chained in a separate room and starving. When Vinayak tries to feed her in exchange for information, she tries to eat him, and he stops her by saying Hastar's name. Sarkar and Sadashiv die, and then Vinayak and his mother leave for Pune.
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An old woman names her price
Fifteen years later Vinayak comes back to Tumbbad to find Sarkar's treasure. The old woman is still alive, with a tree now growing out of her body, and she says she will tell him where the treasure is if he puts an end to her suffering. She takes him to the goddess's womb inside Sarkar's mansion and teaches him how to take the gold. Inside lives Hastar, who has been hungry for eons because he was denied the goddess's grain. Vinayak climbs down on a rope and marks out a ring of flour around himself for protection. He lures Hastar away with a flour dough doll, steals gold coins from his loincloth and runs out of the womb. The doll is the whole trick, which is why it matters so much later.
A moneylender with too many questions
Vinayak burns the old woman, as he promised, and keeps traveling between Pune and Tumbbad to bring back more coins. He sells them to his friend Raghav, a moneylender who starts wondering where the gold comes from. Raghav follows Vinayak to Tumbbad, and Vinayak tricks him into going into the womb. This is the scene to brace for, and it comes later in the story. Raghav picks up a dough doll that Vinayak left in a container as bait, Hastar attacks him, and he ends up fused to the walls of the womb. When Vinayak sees the state Raghav is in, which is mutilated and grotesque, he burns him to end the suffering. The doll is what sets it off.
A second generation with the same greed
By 1947, Vinayak is consumed by greed and his family life is falling apart. He trains his son Pandurang to collect the coins and takes him to Tumbbad, telling him not to bring a dough doll on the practice run. Pandurang brings one anyway, Hastar attacks, and the two barely escape. Vinayak then learns that the new government of independent India has taken over Sarkar's mansion, so he goes back to grab as much gold as he can before he loses access. Pandurang suggests stealing Hastar's entire loincloth and brings several dolls to lure him. Inside the womb, Hastar splits into many copies of himself, and father and son are trapped. Vinayak ties the dolls around himself and takes the attack so that Pandurang can get out.
The ending, explained
Outside the womb, Pandurang meets Vinayak again, and Vinayak has been cursed like the old woman was. He offers his son Hastar's loincloth. Pandurang refuses, puts his father to sleep by saying Hastar's name, burns him and leaves Tumbbad. Before that, Vinayak ties the dolls around himself and takes the attack from Hastar and his clones so that Pandurang can get out.
The post-credits ruling
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits in Tumbbad.
✓ Spoiled safelyDog status: fine, no dog dies.
Questions people ask at 1am
Is Tumbbad scary?
Tumbbad is a 6 out of 10, and the dread lasts about a night. It is gothic, rain-soaked greed horror with some jump scares and a few grotesque creature scenes.
How does Tumbbad end?
Vinayak ties dough dolls to himself so his son Pandurang can escape Hastar, and ends up cursed like the old woman. Pandurang refuses the loincloth his father offers, puts him to sleep, burns him and leaves Tumbbad.
Does the dog die in Tumbbad?
No dog dies in Tumbbad. A dog reportedly gets scared off with a thrown jacket and is fine.
Is there a post-credits scene in Tumbbad?
Nobody has confirmed whether there is a scene after the credits in Tumbbad.
Who is Hastar in Tumbbad?
Hastar is the greedy son of the goddess of prosperity. The other gods destroyed him when he went for her grain, and she saved him by hiding him in her womb on the condition that he be forgotten. He has been hungry since, and the gold coins in his loincloth are what Vinayak is after.
