Acclaimed prosthetics designer Shaune Harrison popularly known to have worked on films like Harry Potter's Lord Voldemort and Mad Eye Moody, Hugo Weaving's Red Skull from Captain America: The First Avenger as well as numerous characters for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, has opened up about the meticulous makeup process behind one of the central characters in the sequel of the cult horror film Tumbbad, Tumbbad 2, revealing how the character undergoes three distinct physical transformations created through complex prosthetic work.
Speaking about the process, Harrison shared that the team had to carefully design multiple prosthetic pieces to maintain visual continuity throughout the shoot. “I mean, there is one main character that we're doing, for which we go through three different looks. And they're quite extensive makeups. So what the interesting side of that is, obviously we'll have double makeups as well, because we always want to make sure, you know, with any film you do, you'll have a stunt double and the acting double. So you have to make multiples of makeups because whenever you do a makeup on an actor, it's only ever used once. So if the actor's in it for 30 days, we have to make 30 exact pieces. But you have all the moulds. So as you can see moulds around here, we inject silicone into the moulds. So it's like a factory line. You produce the same thing over and over and over again. So fingers crossed the audience don't realise that it's a completely different time. We shot it, but it looks exactly the same. And for us, we always love doing new things.”
He further emphasised that preparation and testing are key to ensuring that prosthetic work does not slow down the filming process. “You know, every script comes in, it's different. And you read and you go, okay, we can do this three different ways. So, and you always try and do it the way that is going to be the most easiest on set. You know, you don't want to hold up the crew, the director and the producer. So you always want to make sure things run smoothly. So whenever you're doing tests and stuff, that's what you sort out beforehand. Tests are the really important part of it. Because, you know, if it doesn't work, we'll rechange it.”
Tumbbad 2 is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated cinematic events in the making. The makers recently announced Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s entry into the Tumbbad universe.
Tumbbad 2 spearheaded by actor-producer Sohum Shah under Sohum Shah Films in collaboration with Pen Studios, led by veteran producer Dr. Jayantilal Gada. The studio has built a strong industry footprint across production, presentation, and global distribution, with credits spanning over 3,000 films, including Kahaani and Gangubai Kathiawadi, presenting the global blockbuster RRR, and distributing major commercial successes such as Jawan, Stree 2, and Chhaava.