Jul 16, 2026 10:00pm IST
‘Tumbbad 2’ Makeup Chief Shaun Harrison On Returning to Hastar: ‘We Want to Make Him Look Heroic, Evil, Cool And Creepy’
Sohum Shah’s ‘Tumbbad 2’ is already generating significant attention following the announcement of the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 cult horror film. The makers recently revealed that Alia Bhatt will join the cast, further raising anticipation for one of Indian cinema’s most-awaited genre films.
In an exclusive conversation with Variety India, acclaimed prosthetics and makeup artist Shaun Harrison, who is leading the makeup and prosthetics department on 'Tumbbad 2,' opened up about revisiting the terrifying world of Hastar and the creative challenge of evolving one of Indian horror’s most iconic monsters.
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Recalling the first time he watched Hastar on screen, Harrison admitted he was immediately captivated. “I loved him. Because I’m a horror fan as well. I just loved how creepy Hastar was,” he says.
Harrison revealed that studying horror films is an integral part of his creative process. “We watch horror every night. It takes us hours to watch a film because we’re constantly pausing it, figuring out how they’ve done something, then watching a little more before pausing again. That’s exactly what we did the first time we watched 'Tumbbad.' We kept stopping and thinking, ‘Right, okay, have they done that?’ The Hastar character was incredibly creepy, and I loved him.”
After joining the sequel, Harrison’s first conversations with Sohum Shah centered on understanding the emotional and physical language of the characters, particularly Hastar.
“I think it’s trying to get into the character and understand, from our point of view, where we’re going to go with the characters. Obviously, because he has a major role in the film, it’s about breaking down what we can do with him and how we approach the character,” he says.
For Harrison, the challenge lies in balancing multiple, often contradictory qualities within the creature’s design. “We want to make him look heroic and evil and cool and creepy,” he says, adding, “When you’re trying to do those types of things, it’s a fine line between how he looks, what we have to do with him physically, and what he has to portray. That’s always something that’s fascinating.”
As 'Tumbbad 2' expands the mythology of the original film, Harrison’s comments suggest that the creative team is aiming not merely to recreate Hastar, but to evolve him into an even more layered and visually striking screen presence.
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