EXCLUSIVE: Director Aditya Sarpotdar CONFIRMS Munjya sequel; hints at the connection with Varun Dhawan starrer Bhediya 2

Munjya movie starring Abhay Verma and Sharvari has garnered a good response from fans and critics alike. The concept of folklore has managed to amaze the audience and the connection with Bhediya has left everyone stoked. Munjya has entered the Rs 100 crore club already at the box office. As the movie turned out to be successful, Bollywood Bubble got in touch with director Aditya Sarpotdar to talk about the success of Munjya, folklore, connection with the supernatural universe and more.

In the conversation, Aditya Sarpotdar confirmed the sequel of Munjya while also revealing that Munjya will appear in the Bhediya 2 starring Varun Dhawan. Moreover, he also revealed the thought process of casting Abhay Verma and Sharvari in Munjya. To more about Munjya director Aditya Sarpotdar, read our exclusive interview here…

1. You are popularly known for making Marathi movies and have directed 2-3 films in Hindi which were for niche audiences. What made you do Munjya in Hindi and not in Marathi?

– The films I have made in Hindi have all been for OTT and Munjya was a chance to make a film for a theatrical Indian audience. The folklore, although from Maharashtra, had the potential to capture the imagination of the Indian audience. After films like Tumbad and Kantara that did very well, I felt that Munjya also should be made for the pan-Indian audience which loved to watch rooted folklore narratives

2. When you thought of Munjya, did you write the story thinking about the collaboration with Maddock’s supernatural universe? How did you materialise it?  

– The script of Munjya was already written to a certain extent by the writer, Yogesh Chandekar before I joined as a director. As a kid growing up in Konkan, I was always fascinated by the folklore stories of Munjya. I was working on this concept for a feature film earlier when I was contacted by the Maddock team to direct a film for them as they had seen my Marathi horror comedy film, Zombivli. When we met, we realised that we intended to make a film on a similar subject so we decided to collaborate and do it together.

3. How did you think about making a folklore story like Munjya as a full-blown movie?

– The folklore story of Munjya always had the potential to be made into a horror comedy. This story perfectly fits into the world of horror comedies that Maddock was creating. I always saw folklore as a feature film, which explored the character of Munjya in a narrative that told a very intriguing story. Munjya as a young demonic creature, yet with the temper of a kid had all the elements to make a film that was a blend of fantasy and horror and humour.

4. Congratulations on the success of Munjya as it has entered the Rs 100 crore club. Munjya earned Rs 100 crore at the box office, were you expecting this kind of success or you had a tentative box office number in your head?

– Thank you. Honestly, we never made the film keeping numbers in our heads. I feel the intention always was to make an entertaining film that captured the imagination of the audience. It was an experiment as it was introducing this creature in 3-D,  also casting newcomers to make the world look more real. The effort always was to make an authentic narrative and to make a movie that was built on word of mouth. It’s overwhelming and reassuring to see how the Indian audience has given so much love to this film and made it their own.

5. Munjya’s climax was open-ended so will we see a sequel soon? And will it be connected to Stree and Bhediya since we already saw a glimpse of Bhediya in the climax?

– Yes, the film has an open-ended climax as there is still a reference to where the Munjya could be, and how Bittu is ready to take him on in the next part. There is also a chance to see Munjya in the next instalment of Bhediya as seen in the post credit scene. How and in what way, you will have to wait and watch.

6. What was your thought process in casting Abhay Verma and Sharvari Wagh in Munjya when established actors were seen in the supernatural universe?

– As we were sure that the hero of our film was Munjya, we wanted to build a world around him that felt more real and authentic. Casting known faces would take away the attention from our main character, and we wanted to cast genuine good actors to help tell the story better.

7. Given that Munjya has emerged as successful, why have you decided to release Kakuda starring Riteish Deshmukh on OTT and not in theatres? Was it a conscious decision?

– Kakuda was always a film commissioned and made for the OTT. It was a film that we set up during the second pandemic and the film that was shot technically for an OTT platform. The decision to release the film in July was made by the platform Zee 5. We have realised the appetite for horror comedies in the Indian market and feel that this would be the perfect time to showcase this film to the audience.

8. You had back-to-back horror-comedy releases in the form of Munjya and Kakuda. Was it a conscious decision to have consecutive releases in the same genre?

– Kakuda was a film that was shot just before Munjya. So, it was never a conscious decision to have a back-to-back release. But I guess it has worked out in my favour as post the success of Munjya. This seems like a good time to follow it up with Kakuda, which also falls into the horror comedy genre and looking at the demand of the audience for this genre, we feel the film will be received very well.

9. Also, will Aditya be known as a horror-comedy director only or will you try your hands in other genres as well?

As a filmmaker, I have always made films of different genres in Marathi and intend to do so by exploring multiple genres going forward in the Hindi industry. I’ve always looked for interesting stories and narratives before locking the genre of the same. And I luckily found stories worth telling which lend themselves to the horror comedy space. Post the release of Kakuda, I will be gearing up for the release of a Hindi series for Hotstar, which I have directed and I am the showrunner on.  This is a treasure hunt and an action drama.

Watch the trailer of Munjya

Also read: Munjya box office: Sharvari Wagh and Abhay Verma starrer crosses Rs 100 crore mark with full glory