Rahi Anil Barve & Adesh Prasad

Why: For making a genre of ill-repute, especially in India, equally arty and fun. Rahi Anil Barve and Adesh Prasad’s period-horror-fantasy, named after a fictitious village in twentieth century Maharashtra where it never stops raining, was a world built from scratch, drawing from indigenous tales, creating its own myth. The film disrupted the notion that horror movies have to be only about jump-scares — there was also drama, and a slow-burn spookiness. Originally conceived by Barve, with Prasad entering the picture later, Tumbbad went through years of troubled production, changing collaborators and being called off several times along the way. Considering it’s also an expensive, special effects-aided film that didn’t have stars to bank on, it’s a miracle that this film got made, thanks to the persistence of leading man and producer, Sohum Shah, who also gets an honorable disruptor mention.