Never Ending Movie Carnival
Never Ending Movie Carnival
Munjya review: despite being light on horror, and high on decibels, it is thoroughly entertaining.
What: ‘Munjya’ is a worthy addition to the horror comedy universe architected by Maddock and Amar Kaushik.
Munjya movie synopsis
The Horredy (heady cocktail of horror and comedy) is getting bigger and better with every venture churned out by the Maddock Films. The latest entrant in this universe architected by producer Dinesh Vijan and Amar Kaushik, who directed ‘Stree’ and ‘Bhediya’, is Munjya the brahmarakshas in the Chetakwadi village of Konkan who wreaks havoc when he is out of the captive Banyan tree.
With an effective and intriguing prelude that dates back to 1952, the narrative cuts to the modern day where a meek and docile Bittu (Abhay Verma) living with his assertive Punjabi mom and amicable Marathi Ajji (Suhas Joshi) aspires to become a cosmetologist and help his mother’s parlor business. But when a visit to his ancestral village for his cousin’s engagement reveals some deep dark secrets and unleashes the eponymous monster waiting to fulfil his vengeance, Bittu must unite with his silly friend, Spielberg (Taranjot Singh) to protect his childhood love, Bela (Sharvari) who is unaware of his feelings.
Director Aditya Sarpotdar maintains a uniformly engrossing tone against a canvas and frames that remind us of ‘Tumbbad’ (2018) in the beginning because of the Konkan setting. Yogesh Chandekar’s interesting folklore-infused story is garnished with humor and jokes in the first half and cracks you up. It’s in the second hour that the film loses on the fizz with the entry of Sathyaraj, who plays a spirit buster in the name of Elvis Prabhakar, and it follows the tried and tested, formulaic route.
What works certainly is the AI-generated titular creature. With his funny and sometimes annoying antics, he gets unsolicitedly on Bittu’s back and on our nerves too, incorrigibly demanding, “Munni Dhundo” or “Bela Lagin”! Konkan belt gets exquisite lensing by the DoP, Saurabh Goswami. VFX is very impressive though it leads the way to an outrageously staged climax.
In Abhay Verma, we get an unlikely, be-spectacled hero with an unremarkable physicality and a geek-like demeanor that charms us. Abhay aces the lead character part and shows great confidence. Munjya is a feather on the cap of his versatility as an actor who has tried a range of roles in the last couple of years. Sharvari is equally good, looks gorgeous in some scenes with her green and bright eyes doing the trick. Taranjot oscillates between buffoonery and lover-boy and is likeable for most parts.
Munjya final words
Munjya works for most of its runtime for its fresh and youthful vibe with a hint of a sequel.
I Enjoyed Munjya, I am sure you will do as well.
Rating 3 stars out of 5.
Munjya is running in theatres
Ahwaan Padhee, is an IT Techie/Business Consultant by profession and a film critic/cinephile by passion, is also associated with Radio Playback as well, loves writing and conducting movie quizzes. More By Ahwaan Padhee