Herbert (2005) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Herbert claims to communicate with the dead after his friend Binu is shot by a police informer. On his deathbed, Binu reveals where his diary is hidden behind a Kali idol. Herbert then has a dream about this, which he uses as proof of his ability to contact the dead. This becomes the basis for his business 'Dialogues with the Dead,' which brings him money and respect for the first time in his life.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in the film, Herbert discovers a trunk of occult books and a human skull in his house, hinting at his fascination with the supernatural.

• herbert
• binu
• diary
• dead
• dreams
• occult

During his last visit, Binu stashed smuggled hand grenades from Albania inside Herbert's sleeping mattress. Binu planned to return later to retrieve them, but he was shot by a police informer before he could do so. When Herbert later died by suicide, his cousin Dhanna arranged for the mattress to be cremated with the body, causing the grenades to explode.

Foreshadowing: Binu's involvement with the Naxalite movement and the dangerous political climate of the 1970s establishes his access to weapons.

• herbert
• binu
• grenades
• mattress
• naxalite
• explosion

After Herbert's suicide, his body was cremated with his mattress. The hand grenades hidden inside the mattress exploded during the cremation, killing bystanders and causing a massive blast. Since the grenades were found in his possession after his death, authorities incorrectly concluded that Herbert was a bomber, when in fact he was an innocent victim of circumstances he never knew about.

Foreshadowing: The film opens with the aftermath of the explosion and the police investigation, establishing this mystery from the beginning.

• herbert
• bomber
• explosion
• police
• cremation
• investigation

Binu was introduced to revolutionary ideas by his cousin Krishna, who exposed him to communist leaders like Lenin, Mao, and Stalin, as well as revolutionary cinema. When Binu returns to Kolkata to study at Presidency College in the 1970s, he joins the Naxalite movement, which was fighting against the Congress government. He becomes involved in underground revolutionary activities and eventually dies as a result of this involvement.

Foreshadowing: Krishna's mentorship and the books he left behind planted the seeds of political activism in Binu.

• binu
• naxalite
• revolution
• krishna
• presidency college
• 1970s

Herbert's father, a wealthy Bengali film director, died during a birthday celebration on a film shoot with his mistress Miss Lily. His mother died shortly after from an accidental electrocution. After their deaths, Herbert's uncle's family took control of the house and wealth, leaving Herbert as an errand boy in his own home and the target of ridicule from neighbors.

Foreshadowing: The early deaths of his parents establish Herbert's position as an exploited relative in his own household.

• herbert
• parents
• father
• mother
• uncle
• death

After Herbert's parents died, his uncle's family took control of the family property and wealth. Rather than being treated as a family member, Herbert was reduced to working as an errand boy for his uncle's family. His cousins Dhanna and Krishna treated him differently, Dhanna exploited him to cheat on exams, while Krishna showed him kindness and introduced him to ideas that would shape his worldview.

Foreshadowing: This exploitation establishes Herbert's low social status and his search for meaning outside his immediate family.

• herbert
• uncle
• errand boy
• cousins
• dhanna
• krishna

Herbert befriended Banalata, called Buki, when a new family moved into the neighborhood. The two developed romantic feelings for each other during their youth. However, their budding romance was cut short when Buki's father was transferred for work, forcing her to move away. This loss marked another tragedy in Herbert's life, adding to his sense of isolation.

Foreshadowing: The film presents this romance as a rare moment of happiness in Herbert's otherwise tragic existence.

• herbert
• buki
• banalata
• romance
• neighbor
• love

The International Rationalist Society declared Herbert a fraud and threatened legal action unless he shut down his business 'Dialogues with the Dead.' They confronted him directly, challenging his claim to communicate with the dead. This confrontation adds to the film's exploration of belief versus skepticism, and it occurs during the three-year period when Herbert was at the height of his fame.

Foreshadowing: The rationalists' challenge hints at the film's underlying question about whether Herbert's abilities were real or imagined.

• rationalists
• fraud
• legal
• challenge
• belief
• skepticism

Binu was shot by a police informer on the night of his last visit to Herbert. Although Herbert urged him to stay the night, Binu left for an urgent engagement and was killed. Before dying, Binu revealed to Herbert where his diary was hidden behind a Kali idol in the prayer room, which Herbert later used to establish his claimed ability to communicate with the dead.

Foreshadowing: Binu's death occurs during the intense police crackdown on the Naxalite movement in the 1970s.

• binu
• death
• police
• informer
• shooting
• diary

During his youth, Herbert discovered a trunk containing occult books and a human skull in his house, belonging to an ancestor. This discovery sparked his deep fascination with supernatural and occult subjects, eventually leading to his later claim of being able to communicate with the dead. The trunk represents Herbert's lifelong obsession with the boundary between life and death.

Foreshadowing: This early discovery foreshadows Herbert's future career as a self-proclaimed mystic who deals with the dead.

• herbert
• occult
• skull
• books
• supernatural
• ancestor

Herbert, a forty-year-old man who has spent his life as an eccentric and outcast, slits his wrists and dies after a night of heavy drinking with friends. The film presents this as the culmination of a lifetime of tragedy, exploitation, and marginalization. His death sets in motion the investigation that becomes the framework for the non-linear narrative.

Foreshadowing: The film opens with Herbert cursing people who left his house, establishing his troubled state of mind before his death.

• herbert
• suicide
• death
• alcohol
• despair

Krishna, Herbert's elder cousin, served as a mentor figure who introduced him to revolutionary ideas, exposing him to Lenin, Mao, Stalin, Ho Chi Minh, and revolutionary cinema. He also brought Herbert and Binu into his circle and showed them the world beyond their restrictive home life. When Krishna left to become a college professor, he left behind books including 'Ten Days That Shook the World' for Herbert, continuing his mentorship in absentia.

Foreshadowing: Krishna's influence shapes both Herbert's intellectual development and Binu's later involvement in the Naxalite movement.

• herbert
• krishna
• mentor
• revolution
• books
• education

After Herbert's suicide, his cousin Dhanna arranged the cremation and included the mattress with the body. This was likely done as part of standard practice or perhaps with ulterior motives, as Dhanna had always exploited Herbert. Unbeknownst to anyone, the mattress contained the hand grenades Binu had hidden there, which exploded during the cremation and caused the deadly blast.

Foreshadowing: Dhanna's control over Herbert's affairs after his death continues the pattern of exploitation established throughout the film.

• herbert
• mattress
• cremation
• dhanna
• body
• explosion