Despite
its
horror
movie
momentum,
what
draws
us
to
Aditya
Sarpotdar’s
narrative
is
Bittu’s
homely
universe
and
sweet
struggle
to
confess
his
feelings
to
Bela,
not
Munjya’s
malevolent
antics,
notes
Sukanya
Verma.
Munjya
opens
with
a
reassuring
line
from
bestselling
author
Neil
Gaiman’s
deliciously
dark
fantasy,
Coraline
—
fairy
tales
are
more
than
true:
Not
because
they
tell
us
that
dragons
exist,
but
because
they
tell
us
that
dragons
can
be
beaten.
Where
Henry
Selick’s
chilling
adaptation
sent
shivers
down
the
spine
in
Coraline‘s
stop-motion
animated
avatar,
Munjya
discovers
a
mood
for
mischief
around
the
haunting
hush
hush
of
folk
horror
and
a
CGI
crafted
demon.
Rooted
in
Konkan’s
folklore
and
a
sinister
imagery
evoking
the
distinctly
Maharashtrian
soul
in
the
Hindi
body
of
Tumbbad
and
ritualistic
enthusiasm
of
Kantara,
Aditya
Sarpotdar’s
Munjya
takes
off
in
the
disturbing
aggression
of
an
adolescent
Brahmin
boy’s
obsession
to
marry
a
girl
he
fancies
by
hook,
crook
or
black
magic.
Except
his
schemes
go
horribly
wrong,
tying
his
fate
to
a
remote
peepul
tree
of
an
eerily
dense
forest
no
sane
mind
would
dare
to
set
foot
in.
What
lurks
about
now
is
a
pint-sized
‘munjya’
armed
with
the
might
of
a
monster
and
the
rationale
of
a
peevish
child.
For
all
its
menacing
reputation
though,
it’s
hard
to
take
something
that
looks
like
a
barbequed
version
of
Gollum
and
demonstrates
killer
doll
Chucky’s
profane
manners
all
too
seriously.
Sarpotdar
(Zombivli,
Classmates,
Faster
Fene)
sticks
to
the
cynicism
characterising
a
ghoulish
presence,
which
seeks
its
thrills
in
B-movie
formulas
and
timeless
jump
scares.
But
it’s
the
nervous
comedy
of
out-of-depth
characters
tossed
in
a
supernatural
rumpus
that
draws
us
inside
Munjya‘s
small-scale
boos
and
threats.
Years
and
distance
fail
to
matter
when
a
happy-go-lucky
hairstylist
Bittu
(Abhay
Verma),
helping
his
feisty
single
mum
(Mona
Singh)
run
a
beauty
parlour
in
Pune
along
side
doting
grandma
(Suhas
Joshi),
traumatically
comes
in
contact
with
the
cursed
creature
hounding
his
family
for
three
generations.
Meanwhile,
Bittu
is
smitten
by
Bela
next
door
(Sharvari).
Only
she
has
friend-zoned
her
slightly
younger
neighbour
to
date
a
starry-eyed,
sugary
Caucasian.
But
when
Munjya
eyes
Bela,
it’s
up
to
Bittu,
his
Spielberg
obsessed
Sardar
buddy
(a
droll
Taran
Singh)
and
a
pseudo
shaman
(Sathyaraj
in
goofball
mode)
to
put
the
genie
back
in
the
bottle.
Despite
its
horror
movie
momentum,
what
draws
us
to
Sarpotdar’s
narrative
is
Bittu’s
homely
universe
and
sweet
struggle
to
confess
his
feelings
to
Bela,
not
Munjya’s
malevolent
antics.
And
Abhay
Verma’s
(The
Family
Man
Season
2,
Ae
Watan
Mere
Watan)
disarming
portrayal
of
this
clueless
youngster
at
the
centre
—
whether
trembling
at
the
sight
of
the
ghostly
scoundrel
or
adorable
interactions
around
the
women
he
loves
make
it
easy
to
endure
Munjya‘s
cacophonous
mumbo
jumbo.
Mona
Singh
pitches
in
her
brand
of
fiery,
familiar
gusto,
of
which
her
sexist
brother-in-law
is
deservingly
at
the
receiving
end.
Leading
lady
Sharvari
sticks
to
her
brief
—
beam
in
enthusiasm,
scowl
in
prosthetics
but
the
woman
who
has
Bittu’s
heart
and
succeeds
in
taming
Munjya‘s
feral
spirit
is
Suhas
Joshi’s
benevolence
personified
Ajji
(grandmother).
The
veteran
illuminates
the
screen
with
her
warm
presence
and
elevates
Bittu-Ajji’s
emotional
arc
into
the
biggest
strength
of
a
run-of-the-mill
spook
fest.
There
are
thematic
attempts
to
accommodate
Munjya
into
the
Maddock
Supernatural
Universe,
which
include
Stree,
Roohi
and
Bhediya‘s
recurring
blend
of
supernatural
and
social
issues
as
Munjya
mildly
addresses
the
concept
of
consent
as
well
as
flaunts
its
picture
of
positive
masculinity
in
a
boy
raised
by
a
family
of
women.
Having
said
that,
the
post-credits
cameos
from
two
of
the
above
franchises
are
purely
gimmicky
in
nature.
Whether
Munjya
will
return,
I
don’t
know.
It’s
Abhay
Verma
I’ll
be
watching
out
for.
Munjya
Review
Rediff
Rating:
