Munjya review: Aditya Sarpotdar's horror comedy successfully gives a new spin to the demonic spirit from Konkan's popular folklore
'Maddock Films' returns with another addition to their 'supernatural film universe'. Aditya Sarpotdar directs this new horror comedy, titled 'Munjya', which is penned by Yogesh Chandekar and Niren Bhatt. Just like the previous films from this spooky film universe, this horror comedy also attempts to offer a unique twist on a demonic spirit from popular folklore of a small village, this time in Maharashtra's Konkan region. And this new addition to the supernatural realm somewhat succeeds in blending horror and comedy to come up with an interesting and compelling film.
The film is about a demonic spirit named 'Munjya' from the Konkan region who will go to any length, including human sacrifice of his loved ones, to satisfy his final wish: marry his first and last love, 'Munni'. Bittu (Abhay Verma) is a meek and timid kid who lives with his grandmother (Suhas Joshi) and mother Pammi (Mona Singh), works at his mother's beauty parlour, and is in love with his childhood friend Bela (Sharvari Wagh). But he lacks the courage to express his feelings to her. When he visits his hometown in Konkan with his mother and grandmother to attend his cousin's engagement ceremony, he discovers some dark truths about his family and is unwittingly introduced to the demonic spirit 'Munjya', whom only he can see. Having been tied to the tree for so long this vengeful Munjya is now rabid and slowly starts to show off his dominance over timid and frightened Bittu by feeding off on his fear.
Films based on unheard horror folklore from a small town have one added advantage: these folklores already provide the writers an evil-spirited demonic ghost whose bizarre character traits can give the writers new opportunities to come up with some unique ideas for haunting and unusual premise. Now it's up to the script writer to write a captivating screenplay based on this unusual premise. And the film's writers do a good job of building an intriguing story around this strange, unsettling notion. Another positive aspect of the film is the contrast between shy, timid Bittu and vengeful, greedy for marriage 'Munju', who will go to any length to realise his final wish. The complete mismatch in personalities between these two provides some unique potential for meta humour moments. Because the film is only 120 minutes long, it doesn't have any filler sequences, and the humour of certain parts doesn't always make you laugh, but each scene takes the story forward.
The film's technical qualities, particularly the cinematography, production design, and sound design, all contribute to its overall quality and make it an even more engaging viewing experience. Because of the film's short length, there are no filler scenes, but this also works against it because the writers are unable to familiarise the audience with the various character traits of 'Munjya' in order for the viewers to empathise with the stalker Munjya, as seen in films such as 'Stree' (2018). Except for Bittu's grandmother, the film's supporting characters, including Bittu's mother Pammi (Mona Singh), love interest and his childhood friend Bela(Sharvari Wagh), buddy Taran Singh, and Padri (Sathyaraj), lack strong character features. All of them are brilliant artists, but the film prevents them from showcasing their abilities due to their limited screen time and one-dimensional characters.
Despite these flaws, I think 'Munjya' is an entertaining and compelling watch.
Cast: Abhay Verma, Sharvari Wagh, Mona Singh, Sathyaraj
Writers: Niren Bhatt, Yogesh Chandekar
Director: Aditya Sarpotdar
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