DYK Sharvari-Abhay Verma's Munjya Was Originally Planned As A Lesbian Love Story With Shraddha Kapoor, Alia Bhatt

Munjya (2024) is the third chapter in Maddock's horror comedy universe after Stree (2018) and Bhediya (2022). Directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, the film starred Abhay Verma as Bittu and Sharvari Wagh as Bela. The actors shot to overnight fame following the film's release, and the movie had a successful theatrical run. However, in a new interview, the filmmaker has shared that Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were the first choice for the horror comedy, which was originally planned as a lesbian love story.

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Shraddha Kapoor gave the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (MHCU) its biggest hit, Stree. The actress was almost confirmed to feature in Munjya as well, but the cast changed after director Aditya Sarpotdar boarded the film. Speaking to Moviefied, the filmmaker recalled that the writer of Munjya, Yogesh Chandekar, had penned the film from the female perspective, and the protagonist Bittu (eventually played by Abhay Verma) was supposed to be a female character who is i love with her girlfriend. He shared, "Toh uss role ke liye, we had asked a couple of actors. Usme se ek Shraddha bhi thi, Alia bhi thi. Shraddha nearly done thi, Shraddha ka look test bhi hua tha and everything was kind of working in a direction ki yahi film banne waali hai. And then I came on board. (Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were considered for the role of Bittu. The former was nearly signed as well).”

Explaining why the story underwent drastic changes, Aditya Sarpotdar shared that he felt the horror comedy aspect with the lesbian love story would be too much for the audience. He said, “Kyunki logo ko naa itni saari cheezein samajhti nahi hai. Woh ek focus rakh ke film dekhne aate hain aur unko wohi chahiye. (Audience likes to focus on only one aspect when they are watching the film)." He added that the narrative of the film ‘did not work’ for him.

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He also shared how his perspective regarding the film was entirely different and added, “So then I suggested, can we do this? And the producer said, 'Let's do this. ' Toh woh poora perspective and poora game hi change ho gaya.” Munjya became one of the most talked-about movies of the MHCU and amassed a total of ₹101 crore at the box office.

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