While some films have blockbusters written all over them from their very first look, some are plain surprises that revive box office, every now and then.
Aditya Sarpotdar's horror comedy Munjya, which released on June 7, 2024, was one of them. The film had many of firsts attached to its credit. It made Sharvari an overnight sensation and debutant Abhay Verma (Remember him from The Family Man season two as the young terrorist?) was suddenly on everyone's social media feed. But the one who truly stole the show was Munjya himself, the CGI-generated titular character.
Production banner Maddock Films has put all its might behind its ever-expanding horror-comedy universe since the release of 2018's Stree, the first film in the franchise. Suddenly, viewers were became curious about stories rooted in Indian folklore.
While Stree delved into the tale of the legendary Nale Ba from the 1990s Karnataka region, Munjya had its roots in Marathi folklore. It follows the story of the the birth of the eponymous mythical creature Munjya. In comparison to its other horror-comedy counterparts like the Stree franchise and Bhediya, Munjya digs deeper into the cultural well. Stree addressed issues plaguing the society. It told the story of a courtesan who became an object of desire by men, only to be killed off and later become this much-feared supernatural presence.
But what sets Aditya Sarpotdar's Munjya apart is a horde of factors. While the packaging was all about the horror comedy genre and visual effects, it explored themes of family, generational trauma, and healing.
What Is Munjya?
The menace that was Munjya rose from the tragic death of a male child belonging to the Maharashtrian Brahmin community.
Traversing across the Konkan coast, the peepal-haunting ghost Munjya arises in the film when a young child dies unmarried after his Sod Munjya ceremony, which marks the end of the Brahmacharya (learning) phase and the beginning of the Grihastha (household) phase.
The film took a leaf out of this popular folklore and gave it a riveting twist with the horror-comedy genre.
Munjya became a passage for the Indian audience to probably visit a rooted history that most were oblivious to, until now.
But does Munjya really exist?
In an earlier exclusive conversation with NDTV, Munjya director Aditya Sarpotdar shared a personal experience.
He said, "I've been brought up in Pune, but I have my roots in the Konkan territory. Every holiday, we used to go back to our hometown. As a kid, I have heard stories of Munjya in my hometown."
He adds, "I've always been intrigued about him and who he could be. When I was making my movies, this was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to explore this [the story of Munjya] in my own way."
More Of Heartbreak, Less Of Horror
The juvenile spirit of Munjya meanders in the dead of night, seeking vengeance for his sudden demise. Behind his vengence is a sadness that consumes him.
Munjya tells the story of Gotya, who resides in a village on the Konkan coast. He is obsessed with a girl called Munni, who is seven years older to him and already has a suitor. Gotya is enraged but it is a lost battle when Munni gets married. And, that is when Gotya pledges to perform a human sacrifice ritual under a peepal tree. Munjya gains form, they make the said tree their home.
Gotya tries to use his own sister Gita as a victim for his ritual but when she escapes, Gotya accidentally kills himself. Buried in the soil beneath that same tree is what leads to the birth of this supernatural entity. And, Gotya transforms into Munjya.
His anger stems out from the feeling and belief, that he has been wronged. But alas, what surfaces is the monstrosity that his doing unleashes, and not what caused it.
How Locations Added To The Spirit Of Munjya
When the genre has a tinge of horror to amplify its storytelling, locations become paramount to its effect.
In Munjya, elements like the peepal tree, from which Munjya (literally) stems from, plays a key role.
The crashing waves on a Konkan beach and the eerie feeling of the fictional village of Chetukwadi in the film - all add to the backdrop.
Munjya was vastly shot in the Kudal and Guhagar regions within the Konkan belt. The film was also shot in Pune.
Real locations like Badami Caves and Raigad Fort in the Konkan area, further accentuate the underlying mystery of the cultural folktale. This leads to a more immersive experience for the audience, as they find themselves wandering in the same world much longer after they leave the theatre -- even if it's a figment of the maker's imagination.
Tumbbad Vs Munjya
The comparisons between the 2018 film Tumbbad and the 2024 release Munjya were unavoidable. There is a distinct tonal difference in both films, Tumbbad settles in a more serious world enhanced by the psychological impact of greed, while Munjya gives you a melange of horror and comedy in equal measures.
But then again what brings them together is that they are both inspired by Indian folklore, set in the Konkan belt in Maharashtra.
Munjya, as established, was the story of a Brahmin boy whose dreams of marrying his childhood love are crushed just before dying an untimely death after his thread ceremony.
Tumbbad is on a completely different tangent that draws its storyline from a specific legend. It talks about the Goddess of Prosperity and his first-born son Hastar. The goddess was the symbol of gold and grain, but his son gets consumed by the greed of wealth.
Even though she saves her son from downright annihilation, she curses him to be forgotten and never be worshipped, which becomes the key plot of the film. How a family gets entangled in this web of Hastar and generational greed forms the core of Tumbbad.
While the sense of foreboding and dread seems like a common bread between Tumbbad and Munjya, there are vastly differentiating elements that make the comparisons fall apart rather naturally.
With a year gone by, and so many theories coming to light, maybe it's time to watch Munjya from a new perspective. It's a way of looking back while staying feet firmly planted in the present.