Munjya Movie Review: An average blend of horror and comedy 

As someone who isn’t particularly fond of horror films, I prefer it when they incorporate comedy elements. Within this sub-genre, we’ve seen successful examples like “Stree” and the fairly amusing “Bhediya”. However, the newest addition to this horror-comedy universe, “Munjya”, falls short in comparison. It lacks star power and its screenplay and direction are mediocre, resulting in an average viewing experience with few genuinely scary moments.

Munjya: A Supernatural Horror Comedy with Mixed Results

For a supernatural horror comedy, Munjya, directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, blends way too many elements that intrigue you in the beginning, but gradually, end up only as a series of comedic instances that struggle to scare you. It starts with a Marathi folklore in Maharashtra’s Konkan region with a CGI ghost-like figure that’s not scary at all. The entire screenplay is peppered with a generous amount of humor that mostly lands but does the movie frighten you? No. Is it even intended to scare you? Doesn’t seem like it. It’s funny for the most part, and where it’s not, the loud background music and jump scares do the trick.

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Munjya’s Haunting Legacy Unfolds

The story begins in 1952 when a young Brahmin boy named Goya wishes to marry Munni who is seven years older than him. Since his family disapproves, he performs some rituals in the jungle but dies tragically in the process, and is buried under a tree. Cut to present-day Pune, a geeky college student Bittu (Abhay Verma) works at a salon with his mother Pammi (Mona Singh), and enjoys sweet moments back home with his aaji (Suhas Joshi). He carries a flame for his childhood friend Bella (Sharvari) but is reluctant to express those feelings because she is with an English guy, Kuba. Bittu often gets nightmares and hears muffled voices from the peepal tree haunted by Munjya. A

long with his mum and grandmum, he soon visits their family in the village where Bittu learns buried secrets about his father, and the family’s history with a deadly place called chetuk-baari where Munjya’s spirit dwells in peepal trees. Bittu’s life turns upside down when he is trapped by Munjya and the story unfolds in the most unexpected yet hilarious way.

Mysterious and Troublesome Entity

At the outset, Munjya has a pretty interesting plot, that touches upon the legends of an eponymous child demon-cum-monster that many believe in, and others are simply curious to know more about them. Munjya is perceived as a creature that is both monstrous and childlike due to dying at a young age. Once a demon, he is visible only to people from his bloodline, and he tends to trouble them to fulfill desires, mostly fixated on marriage and finding Munni.

Munjya’s Cinematic Blend

Munjya brings spooky horror that’s barely scary; and comedy, most of which comes from the ghost himself, or actually from the way he speaks. Whoever has done the voice-over for this CGI character needed to have a better brief about the film being a horror first, and then a comedy. Niren Bhatt’s screenplay with a solid story backed by Yogesh Chandekar does offer a fast-paced and engaging first half, and the second half takes the story forward with the same pace putting together all the pieces. Special mention to Saurabh Goswami’s cinematography, which makes the settings look spooky, especially with the aerial shots of the village, that peepal tree, and the stunning beach leading to it. There’s a scene where Bittu’s grandmother is moving barefoot on the beach strip leaving her footprints on the wet sand; it’s shot so spectacularly that you can’t help but notice.

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