Movie Review: 'Munjya' is a fun combo of horror and comedy

The story of 'Munjya'

The story is based on the legend of 'Munjya' prevalent in Maharashtra. Munjya is the name given to a ghost who dies within ten days of his tonsure and becomes a ghost due to his unfulfilled desires. The story begins in 1952 in a village called Chaitukwadi in Konkan, where a ten-year-old boy named Munjya falls in love with an older girl named Munni. He goes to the extent of sacrificing his sister and practicing black magic to make Munni his own, but something untoward happens there which leads to Munjya's death.

To ward off this bad omen, the family and the villagers bury Munjya's ashes in the forest under the same tree where Munjya was performing the ritual. But Munjya's restless spirit takes the form of a dangerous ghost. Years later (in the present), Munjya's descendant Bittu (Abhay Verma) visits his village with his mother (Mona Singh) and grandmother (Suhas Joshi) and Munjya's ghost takes over him. He wants to find his Munni by scaring and torturing Bittu so that he can fulfill his unfulfilled desire of marrying Munni, but then he sets his eyes on Bittu's girlfriend Bela (Sharvari Wagh) and becomes infatuated with her. Now Munjya has to sacrifice Bela to make her his and marry her. Will innocent Bittu be able to free Bela from Munjya's clutches? Will his family be able to recover from the curse of this ghost? You will know this only after watching the film.

Trailer of 'Munjya'

'Munjya' movie review

The biggest feature of director Aditya Sarpotdar's film is his CJI i.e. Computer Generated Imagery Munjya, who remains like a character throughout the film. This character created with graphics, visual effects and animation creates fear in the minds of the audience from the very beginning and as the story progresses, the fear increases. The first half of the film is quite tight, but the story falters a bit in the second half. Although the tadka of comedy with horror is fun, but the punch of horror and comedy in scenes like the exchange of souls by the exorcist guru (Sathyaraj) seems childish.

Cinematographer Saurabh Goswami has created fear by showing his artistry in the sea and jungle scenes. The background score of the film is strong. Talking about music, Sharvari Wagh's item number 'Taras' has turned out well. In the climax, you also get a hint of the next part of this horror-comedy.

Talking about acting, all the actors have given a strong performance. Abhay Verma's innocence and fear as Bittu have managed to keep the audience scared. He has played his character very well. Sharvari has got the complete package of being a heroine as Bela, which includes horror-comedy-romance-dance-song and Sharvari has taken full advantage of it. Mona Singh has played the character of stubborn mother Pammi strongly, while Suhas Joshi leaves a mark in the role of grandmother. Satyaraj has also been memorable in his role. The supporting cast is fine.

Why watch- If you are fond of horror-comedy films then you can watch this film.