Sohum Shah on Varanasi, Ramayana and Why Practical Sets Win

When two big upcoming films are on the horizon, Sohum Shah is looking at them with a fan’s curiosity and a filmmaker’s practicality. In a conversation with Variety India, the Tumbbad actor-filmmaker said he is waiting for both SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi and Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana, but for very different reasons.

Two epics, two kinds of anticipation

For Varanasi, Shah’s excitement comes from not knowing the story. He said he admires Rajamouli as a filmmaker and is curious about the world the director has built, the surprises it holds, and what kind of new universe the film will reveal.

For Ramayana, the pull is different. Shah said he already knows and has watched and read the story, but he is interested to see Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram. He also pointed out the scale of the production, saying the makers have made the film on a very large scale and want to take it to the whole world.

• Varanasi: the unknown world, surprises and Rajamouli’s vision
• Ramayana: a known story, Ranbir Kapoor as Lord Ram and a global scale
• Tumbbad 2: real locations, practical sets and VFX only where required

AI is a tool, not the story

Shah also spoke about artificial intelligence in filmmaking. He does not see AI as a threat. Instead, he believes it can create opportunities for people who have stories to tell but do not have the resources to mount a conventional film.

“The medium can be anything. You can tell a story through AI, through VFX, by building sets or by going to real locations.”

His larger point is simple: filmmakers should choose the tools that best serve their story and creative vision, not chase technology for its own sake.

What Tumbbad 2 will look like

Shah’s own approach remains deliberately tactile. During the first Tumbbad, much of the film’s unsettling world came from physical environments rather than digital effects. He plans to follow the same route for Tumbbad 2, using real locations or built sets wherever possible and turning to VFX or CGI only where they are genuinely required.

The sequel will reprise Shah as Vinayak Rao, with Alia Bhatt and Nawazuddin Siddiqui joining as new faces.

Source: The Times of India