‘Munjya’ is one of the biggest surprise hits of this year. Released on June 7, the film has entered its fourth spectacular week at the box office. Directed by Aditya Sarpatodkar, the film is set to touch the Rs 100 crore benchmark in India despite facing big films at the ticket window. Made on a budget of around Rs 30 crore, the film is completely banking on its content value. india today We had an exclusive conversation with the film’s director Aditya Sarpotdar to know more about the film’s commercial and critical success.

The fourth film in Maddock’s supernatural universe has become the second highest grosser after ‘Stree’. Aditya called it a mere proof of the audience’s acceptance towards ‘rooted’ stories. “There are two-three big things for us. Firstly, this film is very different. It is not your cliché Bollywood films that have released in the last few months. It feels new and different and doesn’t follow any template or trope. It mixes itself with horror-comedy and people have an appetite for such films. I don’t think after ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’, any horror comedy has run in theatres and that is a huge difference. I don’t think people watch everything that is available on OTT,” he said.

There is no formula for ‘Munjya’

‘Munjya’ is based on an Indian legend, a Konkan folktale that explores the myth of ‘Munjya’.Munjya‘ – the emotion of a teenage boy who wants to fulfill unfulfilled desires. Aditya said the story of the film is its biggest USP as it resonates with the current emotions of the audience. The director said he has taken care not to add any ‘formula’ to the narrative and the result is there for all to see. “One thing that has really worked in our favour is that we have stayed true to the narrative and the story and have not diluted it with trade logic like ‘you need a star or a well-known face’, ‘you need a certain number of songs’ or ‘you need a very popular narrative rather than a regional one. Our language is local, our characters are very local, our casting is also local, and our story is very grounded. So, it’s all very unconventional and not your quintessential ‘industry-like’,” he said.

In a way, ‘Munjya’ has broken many stereotypes of Bollywood. It doesn’t have a grand starcast, nor does it grab attention through any catchy dance numbers. At its core, it is a local story with a simple cast – Sharvari Wagh, Mona Singh and Abhay Verma have stepped up the game with their stellar performances. “It feels like we have broken many stereotypes of Bollywood. What else could be the reason behind the film being so successful despite other releases? We are not a big budget film. Why is it that we have crossed the Rs 100 crore mark at the box office?” Aditya said.

How ‘Munjya’ takes the audience back home

Another factor in favour of ‘Munjya’ is that it gives the audience back home a chance to feel the same. This is Aditya’s first hit film and he said that he could sense the real emotion of the audience from this film. For him, ‘Munjya’ bridges the gap between global experiences and the craving for homegrown stories. The director explained the idea: “The audience has gone global. They are consuming products and experiences from different parts of the world. They watch K-dramas, K-pop, British and American shows and everything else that is available to them. We have gone global both in our choices, outlook and reach. Where are we headed now and what are we hoping to achieve?”

He added: “In the 80s and 90s, we wanted to see films that showed us Switzerland and foreign places. That was our aspiration. We wanted to go there and live that kind of life. We wanted that kind of big experience for ourselves. Today, we have people who are living that kind of life. The audience can access all these places. They are going abroad and living that kind of life. So what is the aspiration now? To go back to the roots. I meet a lot of people who work, and they are always excited to talk about their hometown, to go back to their hometown. They want to see their culture and pass it on to the next generation. They miss it, and they want that kind of representation in cinema.”

How did ‘Munjya’ beat a big film like ‘Chandu Champion’ at the box office?

A week after ‘Munjya’ released in theatres, ‘Chandu Champion’, a much bigger film, with a terrific hero and a brilliant director, came to theatres. Though the number of screens was shared, the presence of this film hardly made any impact. Munjya The director sheds light on this and explains why he can see a change in the taste of the audience and also explains the importance of a good trailer.

He said, “I am seeing a change. It is not the scale of the promotion that people are going for. People make up their minds after watching the trailer. We got an opening equal to ‘Chandu Champion’. We got a bigger weekend than ‘Chandu Champion’. Why did that happen? I think people decided to watch the film the day the trailer came out. There was something in the trailer and the poster that worked for them. If the film is big, the scale, the volume, the expense – all of that is great. But for a film to be successful, all of that has to be backed by a great trailer. If the film is not supported by a strong trailer, people will not watch the film.”

Munjya + wolf + woman

After 25 days of release, ‘Munjya’ is raking in Rs 95.14 crore in India. It is expected to break the storm of ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ and enter the Rs 100 crore club. But, what about the crossover between ‘Stree’, ‘Munjya’ and ‘Bhediya’? Aditya confirmed the exciting crossover that will happen in the future and revealed that the audience has already seen ‘Stree 2’ in ‘Munjya’ and now they will get to see a bit of ‘Munjya’ in ‘Bhediya 2’ as well. He said, “We have kept the film open-ended. We have shown that Munjya is there and if he needs to come back, he will come back. So, all this is leading to the possibility of a sequel, which we will work on in due course. There is definitely a plan for a crossover. A little bit of ‘Munjya’ is shown in the end-credit scene in ‘Bhediya’ and in the ‘Munjya’ sequel, you can see ‘Stree’. All these films are being made for interesting crossovers. The plan is that, slowly and steadily, we will bring all these films together and in this progression of how things will move forward, I am sure as more films are released in this universe, you will see this crossover happening even more.”

‘Munjya’ may have been declared a blockbuster at the box office, earning a lot of money for the makers, but its real triumph is how it appealed to the family audience. It is a clean film and has especially attracted children to the theatres. ‘Munjya’ is a respite in the age of large-scale action entertainment with heavy CGI work. This is what heartland cinema represents and should stand for.