Munjya Review: Decent addition to horror comedy universe
Munjya Movie Rating: 3 Stars
Watched Munjya movie in Cinema. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my personal view on this movie.
Cast: Sharvari, Abhay Verma, Mona Singh and Sathyaraj
Director: Sharan Sharma
Release Date: 31st May 2024 in cinema
Story: The story unfolds in 1952 in the idyllic Konkan countryside, where young Gotya (Ayush Ulagadde) 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 attempts to sacrifice his sister Gita (Khushi Hajare) by killing her and offering her blood to the Gods. But he dies instead. As 10 days have not elapsed since his mundan ceremony, his spirit becomes a Brahmarakshas as is the belief in the village of Maharashtra where Gotya lived with his family. His spirit is tied to the tree under which he died but it troubles the family members who can also see the spirit now known as Munjya.
Years pass by. Gita is now a grandmother Ajji (Suhasini Joshi). Her son has passed away under mysterious circumstances, in the same village. She now lives with her daughter-in-law Pammi (Mona Singh) and grandson, Bittu (Abhay Verma) in the city.
Bittu gets visions of the village but since his mother and grandmother have not told him anything about Gotya/Munjya, he is clueless about the frightening dreams and visions he often gets. He a timid and superstitious young man, returns to his ancestral village for a family function. He is in one-sided love with Bela (Sharvari Wagh) and his college senior who is in a relationship with a Kuba (Richard Lovatt) and has friend zoned him.
A visit to the village Chetukwadi takes Bittu to the same tree in which Munjya is trapped. Bittu sees Munjya accidentally unlock the menace of Munjya and the latter now won’t leave him. His cousin Diljit (Taran Singh) and the psychic Elvis Karim Prabhakar (Sathyaraj) help him exorcise the demon. What is it that Munjya wants? Is Bittu able to free himself from the clutches of Munjya?
Positives
1. Performances
2. Cinematography
3. Story
4. Music
5. Direction
Negatives
1. Length
2. Screenplay in 2nd half
3. Climax
4. Horror missing
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film planned to watch this movie on its release date as liked the concept and loved director last movie.
A young man’s visit to his native village unveils a family secret and a vengeful spirit, Munjya, who wants to get married. Now the young man must fight to protect himself and his love from Munjya’s clutches leading to a humorously chaotic and terrifying adventure.
Munjya is an engaging tale with humor taking more space and horror in the backseat, 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. 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. Munjya is the CGI monster and 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 he died. It is quite a fresh film conceptually and to top it, it has charming, young faces that keep the proceedings light and breezy. Few comic punches are right on the money and will make you laugh your heart out. The initial world-building is solid and the movie cuts straight to the chase with its very first sequence. Despite being a non-starrer of sorts, the movie never compromises on the production value, and the film looks as rich as any other film having an A-lister. The visual effects work is great, more so considering how little it has cost. Every song in the movie is superb, be it Taras, Tainu Khabar Nahi or Hai Jamale. The background score is terrific.
On the flipside, while the movie doesn’t take much time to establish itself, it loses its crispness soon. 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 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. The one who has managed the voice of the monster has done an unforgivably poor job. While the film starts with promise, it falls prey to the usual horror-comedy tropes.
Overall, if you have loved watching movies like Stree, Roohi, and Bhediya then watch this movie for its twisted blend of horror and comedy, as well as the inspired acting displayed by the entire ensemble cast. A decent addition to horror comedy universe. My view on this movie Recommended
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