Munjya (film)

Munjya is a 2024 Indian Hindi-language supernatural comedy horror film directed by Aditya Sarpotdar starring Sharvari, Abhay Verma, Mona Singh and Sathyaraj. Produced by Amar Kaushik and Dinesh Vijan under Maddock Films, it is the third film in the Maddock Supernatural Universe and focuses on the legend of munjya, inspired by Indian folklore and mythology.

Munjya was theatrically released on 7 June 2024, to positive reviews from critics. The film emerged as sleeper hit grossing over inr 1310000000 worldwide against a production cost of inr 300000000 to rank as the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024.

Plot
In 1952 in a village in Konkan, Gotya is a young Brahmin boy who is in love with a girl named Munni who is 7 years older than him. Her marriage is fixed with another man and Gotya attempts to poison the man but is unsuccessful. Gotya's mother beats and scolds him, saying that he cannot be allowed to marry Munni. An adamant Gotya then takes his younger sister Gita to Chetukwadi, a dense jungle and prepares to perform black magic underneath a peepal tree, which would allow him to marry Munni. He attempts to sacrifice his sister as part of a ritual but she manages to defend herself and in the ensuing tussle, Gotya dies by getting his head hit by the tree trunk. His dead body is then cremated but since he died 10 days prior to his Upanayana (thread ceremony), he transforms into a malevolent creature named Munjya and continues to haunt the peepal tree waiting to fulfil his wish of marrying Munni.

Several decades later in Pune, Bittu is a meek and timid young man who works as a hairdresser at his mother Pammi's salon and wishes to pursue a course in cosmetology. He loves his grandmother dearly and is deeply attached to her. His father had died many years ago but he was never told the reason behind his death. He is in love with his childhood friend Bela but has never managed to confess his feelings to her. Bela, who has returned after completing her studies from abroad, works as a Zumba instructor and her boyfriend Kuba proposes to her for marriage in front of Bittu which saddens him. He also has frequent nightmares and visions of the same peepal tree in which Munjya resides, but is unaware of its history.

To attend his cousin Rukku's engagement ceremony, Bittu along with his family head to their ancestral house in their native village in Konkan, which is revealed to be the same where Gotya used to live. Bittu's uncle Balu Kaka reveals to Bittu that many years ago, Bittu's father had gone near the haunted peepal tree at Chetukwadi despite several warnings. He had died at that place and Munjya was believed to be behind his death. Bittu is shocked upon learning this and feels hurt that the truth was hidden from him for so long. He heads straight to Chetukwadi by himself ignoring everyone's warnings.

Upon coming near the peepal tree, Bittu is attacked by Munjya who says that he was awaiting the arrival of his descendant. Bittu's grandmother, who is revealed to be Gotya's younger sister Gita, attacks Munjya with the cane with which their mother used to beat Gotya. This makes Munjya back off and the two escape. Gita reveals to Bittu that his father also used to have visions of the peepal tree. Just then, Munjya appears in front of them, possesses Bittu and kills Gita. Shocked and heartbroken, Bittu and Pammi return to their home in Pune, with Bittu still under the possession of Munjya.

Munjya continues to haunt him and appears in front of him only after sunset, demanding that Bittu help him marry Munni. He threatens to kill Pammi and all his friends if he does not listen to his demands. Seeing Bittu's strange behaviour and with Munjya being invisible to them, everyone around him assumes that he has started consuming drugs due to the trauma of his grandmother's death, feeling deeply concerned for him.

Bittu reveals the truth about him being possessed by Munjya to his best friend Diljit Singh Dhillon aka Spielberg who is a big fan of Steven Spielberg and also has a fascination towards aliens and videography. Spielberg cannot see Munjya but can hear his voice and sense his presence which scares him. They both come up with a plan to learn the identity of Munni. They contact Rukku and ask her if any woman named Munni used to live in their village. Rukku reveals that a girl named Munni used to live in their neighbouring house but she had moved to another city following her marriage many years ago. She sends them a photo of Munni and they are surprised to see that Munni looks eerily similar to Bela.

Thinking that Munni and Bela might be related, they visit Bela's house and discover that Munni is Bela's grandmother. Seeing that Munni has grown old now, Munjya no longer wants to marry her. However since Bela looks similar to Munni in her younger days, Munjya is attracted to Bela and says that he wants to marry Bela instead. He adds that he would sacrifice Bela as part of a ritual so that they both can be united after her death. This leaves Bittu shocked, knowing that he might lose Bela forever.

Bittu and Spielberg visit an exorcist named Elvis Karim Prabhakar and ask for his help to solve their problem. Elvis shows them some ancient manuscripts and reveals the history of Munjya to them. He suggests a plan to get rid of Munjya forever - They must acquire a goat and draw a symbol on it with blood which would let Munjya transfer himself into its body in order to attain a physical form. They should then pretend to get Bela married to the goat and kill the goat before the marriage takes place, which would make Munjya disappear forever. He also warns them that the same symbol should not be drawn on anyone else other than the goat.

Bittu and Spielberg bring Bela to their village on the pretext of doing a video shoot, with Pammi and Elvis joining them, the latter without revealing his true identity to others. Kuba also arrives there, which annoys Bittu. Kuba takes Bela near the jungle to kiss which makes Munjya jealous. He drags Kuba deep into the jungle and bites off his testicles. Kuba is hospitalized, they mix alcohol into coconut water and make Bela drink it, following which Rukku also sees Munjya as she is from the same lineage. Bittu, Spielberg and Rukku then acquire a goat belonging to Balu kaka and take a drunken Bela to Chetukwadi to carry out their plan.

They come underneath the peepal tree and draw the symbol on the goat's body. However, Bela in her drunken state also draws the same symbol on her forehead. Munjya then transfers himself into Bela's body and attacks them. Bela's soul is transferred into the goat's body and the goat runs away from there. The others manage to escape and are shocked to find that Balu Kaka has made mutton curry from the goat. Elvis arrives there and uses blessed salt to draw a circle around Munjya in Bela's body which she would not be able to cross. He says that Bela's soul would be inside Balu Kaka and they draw the symbol on Balu Kaka's forehead. However, it is revealed that the goat containing Bela's soul is still alive and that Balu Kaka had cooked mutton curry from another goat.

Munjya in Bela's body manages to cross the circle by fooling Rukku following which he appears in front of Balu Kaka and the goat with the symbol drawn on them. Their souls are interchanged - The souls of Bela and the goat are transferred back into their own bodies and Munjya is transferred into Balu Kaka's body. Munjya then drags Bela to the jungle near the peepal tree and prepares to sacrifice her. Just then Gita's soul appears in front of Bittu and gives him the cane which would help him defeat Munjya. Bittu then fights Munjya with the cane and draws the symbol on the peepal tree which transfers Munjya into the tree. Munjya then uses the branches of the tree to attack them but they manage to burn the tree and Munjya is assumed to be gone forever.

Bittu confesses his feelings to Bela but she says that she sees him as her best friend and does not want to lose him. Bittu understands and says that their friendship will remain forever. Spielberg and Rukku start working with each other for video shoots. As the peepal tree's soul was transferred into Balu Kaka's body, he starts to act like a tree and stands on one leg, asking everyone to "water him". It is revealed that the peepal tree has been cut down, with its parts being transported to various locations and Munjya is still alive within those parts of the tree.

In a mid-credits scene, Jana brings some clothes for Bhaskar aka Bhediya to wear as he is stranded naked in the jungle, presumably after being transformed into a werewolf the previous night. He wears underwear from a brand named Munni which Munjya observes.

Cast

 * Sharvari as Bela
 * Abhay Verma as Bittu
 * Sathyaraj as Elvis Karim Prabhakar
 * Mona Singh as Pamela, Bittu's mother
 * Suhas Joshi as Gita (Aji), Bittu's grandmother and Munjya's sister
 * Ayush Ulagadde as Munjya alias "Gotya"
 * Bhagyashree Limaye as Rukku
 * Ajay Purkar as Balu Kaka
 * Richard Lovatt as Kuba
 * Shruti Marathe as Gotya's mother
 * Taranjot Singh as Spielberg
 * Anay Kamat as Gotya's father
 * Reema Chaudhary as Mahua
 * Rasika Vengurlekar as lady in bus
 * Radhika Vidyasagar as housewife

Additionally, Varun Dhawan and Abhishek Banerjee reprise their roles as Bhaskar Sharma and Janardan Sharma from the movie Bhediya as cameos in a mid-credits scene.

Inspiration
Talking with Mid-Day, Bhatt discussed the traditional four stages of life in Hinduism: Brahmacharya (student life), Gṛhastha (householder life), Vanaprastha (retirement), and Sannyasa (renunciation). He mentions the Upanayan ceremony known as Munjya in Marathi, which marks the beginning of the student phase, and the Sod Munjya ceremony, which marks the transition from student life to householder life. Essentially, he's explaining the significance of these ceremonies in the context of life's stages according to Hindu tradition. If a man passes away without getting married after his munja ceremony but before his Sod Munja, he transforms into a Munjya—a spirit dwelling in peepal trees or close to wells. Peepal trees emit significant amounts of carbon dioxide after nightfall, and the apprehension of encountering Munjya deters people from sitting under them after sunset. According to Bhatt, Munjya is perceived as a creature that is both monstrous and childlike due to dying at a young age. Munjya tends to trouble people to fulfill its desires, often fixating on marriage. Munjya's are not usually malevolent; rather, they are seen as immature and petty nuisances. They have a peculiar fondness for throwing stones at individuals standing beneath trees.

Development
Bhatt states that the tale initially entered their sphere through Yogesh Chandekar, who introduced a renowned figure from his region to Maddock Films. Bhatt and Kaushik spent three years to developing the story, conducting research by exploring numerous wadas and orchards in the Dapoli and Ganpatipule regions where Munjya's are said to have been "tied down". Munjya is acclaimed as inaugural CGI film starring an animated character. The film is helmed by Aditya Sarpotdar, explores the legendary creature from Indian folklore, according to a statement from the makers. Sarpotdar and his team, in collaboration with DNEG, spent nearly a year to crafting the eerie and mischievous main character entirely through computer-generated imagery. Sarpotdar explained in an interview with PTI, "Half of the film's budget went into VFX, a significant allocation underscoring its importance. We meticulously developed a CGI creature through extensive research and development to ensure accuracy". The teaser was released on 21 May 2024 and the trailer was released on 24 May 2024.

Casting
Abhay Verma has been selected to star alongside Sharvari in the film. Describing her role, Sharvari mentioned, "I play a contemporary woman determined to pursue her dreams above all else, a sentiment many can identify with in today's world. Her dating experiences add to the relatability of the character, resonating with numerous women." The film features Mona Singh, Sathyaraj in other pivotal roles supported by Suhas Joshi. Singh opened her role in the film during an interview with ANI News, she cast in the role of Pammi, the mother of Bittu, played by Abhay. Pammi is depicted as strict and overly protective of her son, leading to a journey marked by various challenges and surprises. The Marathi actress Rasika Vengurlekar was seen in the teaser is playing a supporting role in the film. Radhika Vidyasagar made her film debut, playing the role of housewife in Konkan.

Filming
The film was shot in Kudal and Guhagar in the Konkan region of Maharashtra.

Release
The film was released on 7 June 2024 in Cinemas.

Soundtrack
Sachin–Jigar composed the music and score for the film, while one song is co-composed by Skeletron. Lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Reception
Bhawna Arya of Times Now rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "In conclusion, Munjya appears to be an entertaining film that successfully combines elements of comedy and horror. While it may not satisfy hardcore horror fans, it promises to be a fun and thrilling ride for those who enjoy a good laugh with their scares." Ganesh Aaglave of Firstpost rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "Film aces in the technical departments, especially in VFX, camera and SFX with crisp editing. Talking about the performances, everyone in the cast has done a splendid job but it’s a VFX character of Munjya, who has stolen the show. Munjya is a theatrical experience and deserves a watch for its novelty and authenticity."

A critic for Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote "Munjya is an entertaining horror-comedy with a gripping second half. At the box office, the film might start slow but it has the potential to pick up due to the genre, word of mouth and connection with the Maddock Cinematic Universe." Dhaval Roy of The Times Of India rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote "The movie leaves some questions unanswered, and certain elements fail to add up. Nevertheless, the atmospheric setting, hilarious moments, and engaging performances make it an entertaining watch, especially for viewers seeking a horror- comedy experience with a youthful energy."

Rishil Jogani of Pinkvilla rated the film 2.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "Munjya has redeeming qualities but the irritating monster, formulaic tropes and the outrageous climax make it the horror show that it doesn't intend to be." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 1.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "Munjya is the sort of film that you want off your back as desperately as Bittu wants Munjya off his! It outlives its welcome well before it is into its second half. It is easy to see that a great deal of effort has gone into its making. What it yields is hardly commensurate."

Box office
As of July 18, 2024 the film has grossed ₹127.39 crore in India and ₹4.18 crore internationally, for a total worldwide gross of ₹131.57 crore.