Munjya review: Entertaining horror comedy with less chills and more laughs

This Friday, we have Munjya in theatres. Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, this supernatural thriller, rooted in famous Marathi folklore, is a concoction of humour, horror, and sarcasm, featuring a CGI-made creature, Munjya (far better than the cartoonish charactersofAdipurush).

If you have loved watching movies like Stree, Roohi, and Bhediya, then Maddock's recent release is in the same linefeaturing modern-day youngsters in a battle with a demon they never knew existed.

Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, Munjya is an engaging tale with humour taking more space and horror in thebackseat, making it a perfect watch for children this summer season. It's worth mentioning that this supernatural thriller comes at a time when Bollywood is not giving us films that are truly theatre-worthy and can be skipped for an OTT release. But thank god, the case is different with Maddock's recent release. While the movie might give you déjà vu of a studio's supernatural universe, it's still entertaining, fun, and eerie at the same time.

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What Munjya Is All About:

Starting witha flashback, the movie is set in Chiplun village ofKonkan area, where a young boy, Gotya, has been beaten by his mother over his obsession to marry a girl from his village, Munni. While his love is getting married, on the other side of the road, he's forced to sit in his Munjya ceremony. To get back Munni, who is now married, he turns to black magic and tries to kill his own sister. However, he ends up losing his lifeand turns into the evil Munjya, whose quest to marry his lover remains unfulfilled. The story fast-forwards, and we are introduced to a shy and young lad, Bittu, who is living in Pune with his mother and grandmother. Bittu is a vulnerable boy who can easily be scared by anything that comes his way. On the romantic front, he'sin love with his childhood friend Bela.While he's living a happy life in Pune, Bittu, who is connected to the Chiplun village, is continually experiencing eerie flashbacks. Amidst this, he visits his ancestral village and ends up freeing Munjya from the tree where he's been imprisoned for decades.

Now the evil and notorious Munjya is after him andtroubles Bittu to get back his lost love, Munni. However, he ends up liking Bela and wants her now. How Bittu, with the help of his friends, saves Bela makes the rest of the story.

What Works and What Doesn't

Written by Niren Bhatt and Yogesh Chandekar, the movie is a piece of Marathi folklore featuring an interesting CGI-created ghoul that not many are aware of. For people like me who have always had an interest in ancestral ghost stories, this movie is likely to be appealing. However, while the movie doesn't take much time to establish itself, it loses its crispness soon.

Munjya, the CGI monster, is the main attraction of the movie. He's sketched and presented well, with notorious nature, eerie expressions and a dash of childishness that aligns well with the time hedied. If only makers had given him more screen presence!

Talking about the plot,there are plenty of movies set in a remote village with a specific cursed area where no one dares to go. So the story might not be unique or striking. But with the basic plot, the makers have shot and presented the movie well with the limited characters.

The moderate yet attractive setting captures the audience's attention in no time and maintains it during the first half of the movie as we get to know the worlds ofBittu and Munjya. However, the script starts to lose its charm in the second half and it seems like the makers don't have much to tell.

Watching the trailer, I had prepared myself for a spooky experience. But the movie disappointed in this aspect too. While they have added enough comic and humorous elements, the horror factor was missing. Furthermore, the plot of the movie was exaggerated with unnecessary characters and scenes. Characters like Elvis Karim Prabhakar (Sathyaraj) don't add much.

The battle in the climax of the movie made no logic to me. It felt rushed and some points felt out of place. Instead of giving it a comical touch, had the makers taken a more serious tone, it could have turned out differently.

TheVFXand accurateediting of the movie also kind ofsaves the films.

Cast Performances

The movie's casting is perfect, and their performances cover the faults of the script in the best way. Most of the movie rests on the shoulders of Bittu, played by Abhay Verma, and his cousin Spielberg, played by Taranjot Singh. Fromcomic timing to performance, the pair has single-handedly made the movie watchable.

Abhay, who you may have seen in Safed and Ae Watan Mere Watan, takes the lead and plays his vulnerable character with utmost honesty. Taranjot Singh,Bittu's sidekick,is impressive as well.

Mona Singh and Sharvari have given credible performances in the limited screen presence they have. Veteran actress Suhas Joshi as Bittu's Ajji brings warmth to the movie.

Watch It or Skip It?

Munjya's plot and setting may be regular, but since it is a thoroughly entertaining horror comedy, you would not regret spending bucks on it.