| Muni | |
| Director: | Raghava Lawrence |
| Producer: | Saran (Muni) Raghava Lawrence (Kanchana, Kanchana 2) Kalanidhi Maran (Kanchana 3) |
| Screenplay: | Raghava Lawrence |
| Story: | Raghava Lawrence |
| Starring: | Raghava Lawrence Kovai Sarala Rajkiran Sarathkumar Devadarshini Sriman Vedhika Vinu Chakravarthy Raai Laxmi Nithya Menon Taapsee Renuka Oviya Nikki Tamboli Ri Djavi Alexandra |
| Music: | Original Songs: Bharadwaj (Muni) S. Thaman (Kanchana, Kanchana 2) Leon James (Kanchana 2) C. Sathya (Kanchana 2) Ashwamithra (Kanchana 2) Doo Paa Doo (Kanchana 3) Background Score: Sangeetharajan (Muni) S. Thaman (Kanchana, Kanchana 2) Doo Paa Doo (Kanchana 3) |
| Cinematography: | K. V. Guhan (Muni) Vetri E. Krishnasamy (Kanchana) R. B. Gurudev Rajavel Olhiveeran (Kanchana 2) Vetri Sarvesh Murari (Kanchana 3) |
| Editing: | Suresh Urs (Muni) Kishore Te. (Kanchana, Kanchana 2) |
| Studio: | Gemini Productions (Muni) Raghavendra Productions (Kanchana, Kanchana 2) Sun Pictures (Kanchana 3) |
| Distributor: | Tamil: Gemini Productions (Muni) Sri Thenandal Films (Kanchana, Kanchana 2) Sun Pictures (Kanchana 2, Kanchana 3) |
| Released: | : : : : |
| Country: | India |
| Language: | Tamil |
| Budget: | 49 crore (see release and revenue below) |
| Gross: | 238 crore (see release and revenue below) |
Muni is an Indian Tamil-language horror comedy film series created and directed by Raghava Lawrence who also appeared in lead roles in all the films. The first film is Muni (2007) and the second is (2011) with the third installment of the franchise titled Muni 3: Kanchana 2: Ganga (2015). The latest movie, the fourth instalment is Muni 4: Kanchana 3 (2019). and stars Raghava Lawrence and Kovai Sarala with Rajkiran, Sarathkumar, Devadarshini, Sriman, Vedhika, Vinu Chakravarthy, Raai Laxmi, Nithya Menon, Taapsee, Renuka, Oviya, Nikki Tamboli, Alexandra Ri Djavi. All films were successful at the box office, continuing the trend of the comedy-horror genre in Tamil cinema that began with Chandramukhi (2005).
All four films revolve around the same plot of a coward who gets possessed by a ghost to take revenge on the people who killed them, and the rest of the film shows how he takes revenge. Raghava Lawrence and Kovai Sarala are the only actors to appear in every installment of the series.
See main article: Muni (film). A young man, along with his wife and his parents, migrates to Chennai where he gets possessed by the spirit of a kind-hearted person who was murdered by an ambitious and corrupt political leader.
See main article: Kanchana (2011 film). When three spirits possess a timid young man and start making him act like a woman, his mother consults an exorcist who unearths a heartbreaking tale of societal injustice, murder and vengeance.
See main article: Kanchana 2. A cameraman is petrified of ghosts but obliges when his director proposes a show on ghosts to revive their TV channel. However, strange things happen when they start working on the show.
See main article: Kanchana 3. Raghava is a young man who lives happily with his family but is scared of ghosts. When he visits Coimbatore with his family, he is possessed by a vengeful ghost with a sinister past.
| Film | Release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muni | 9 March 2007 | Raghava Lawrence | Saran | ||
| Muni 2: Kanchana | 22 July 2011 | Raghava Lawrence | |||
| Muni 3: Kanchana 2 | 17 April 2015 | ||||
| Muni 4: Kanchana 3 | 19 April 2019 | Kalanithi Maran, Raghava Lawrence | |||
| Muni:5 Kanchana 4 | 2025 | Raghava Lawrence | |||
See main article: Muni (film). The first installment of the series, based on fictional incidents. A young man, along with his wife and his parents, migrates to Chennai where he gets possessed by the spirit of a kind-hearted person who was murdered by an ambitious and corrupt political leader. Muni was released on 9 March 2007 and gained positive response.[1] It earned ₹15 crore against a budget of ₹4 crore.[2]
See main article: Kanchana (2011 film). After the success of Muni Raghava and Sarala Re-unite once again for sequel. The film was titled as Muni 2: Kanchana and also second installment in this series.[3] The film was released on 22 July 2011 worldwide. The film's soundtrack was composed by S. Thaman.[4] Kanchana opened to mostly positive reviews.[5] The film grossed ₹68 crore worldwide[6] becoming the second highest grossing Tamil film of 2011.
See main article: Kanchana 2. A stand-alone sequel, Muni 3: Kanchana 2, was commissioned after the success of the previous films and was also directed by Raghava.[7] It stars Raghava, Taapsee and Sarala in lead roles.[8] And also the third installment in this series. It was released on 17 April 2015 in around 750 screens worldwide alongside Mani Ratnam's O Kadhal Kanmani. The Telugu version titled Ganga[9] was released later on 1 May 2015 in around 550 screens.[10] [11] Film received positive response from audience.[12] Proving to be similarly successful to the first entry in the series, the film emerged as a huge box office success, becoming the third highest grossing Tamil film of 2015.[13] [14] [15]
See main article: Kanchana 3. The fourth installment in this series, written and directed by Raghava.[16] The film was titled as Naagaa,[17] then changed to Muni 4: Kanchana 3, produced by Sun Pictures.[18] The film stars Raghava in a dual role with Oviya, Vedhika, Nikki Tamboli,[19] Keerthi Pandian and Ri Djavi Alexandra. While Kovai Sarala, Soori, Tarun Arora, and Kabir Duhan Singh play supporting roles. Kanchana 3 was released on Good Friday in 2019.[20] The film received mixed reviews from audiences, comparisons of Kanchana 1 and 2.[21] It earned ₹130 crore worldwide against a budget of ₹20 crore, becoming one of the fourth highest grossing Tamil film of 2019.[22]
See main article: Kanchana 4. Coming Soon
| Film | Release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Durga | 2024 | Raghava Lawrence | Filming[23] | ||||
| Muni 5: Kanchana 4 | Raghava Lawrence | Announced[24] | |||||
A spin-off, Durga,was commissioned after the success of the previous film and directed by renowned stunt masters Anbarivu. It is a directional debut for the twins. The film stars Raghava Lawrence, Kovai Sarala, Sriman and Devadarshini in lead roles. The film will release theatrically worldwide in summer 2024.
This table lists the main characters who appear in the Muni film series.
| Actors | Films | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muni | Muni 3: Kanchana 2 | Muni 4: Kanchana 3 | Muni 5: Kanchana 4 | |||
| Raghava Lawrence | Ganesh | Raghava | Raghava & Shiva (Dual role) | Raghava & Kaali (Dual role) | Raghava | |
| Kovai Sarala | Sarala, Raghava's mother | |||||
| Vedhika | Priya | Priya | ||||
| Raai Laxmi | Priya | |||||
| ViroshanSKA | ||||||
| Sriman | Prasad | Dr. Prasad | Prasad | |||
| Devadarshini | Kamakshi | |||||
| Yuvasri Lakshmi | Pappa | |||||
| Renuka | Nandini's sister-in-law | |||||
| Taapsee Pannu | Nandini | |||||
| Nithya Menen | Ganga | |||||
| Mayilsamy | fake priest | Watchman | ||||
| Occupation | Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muni | Muni 3: Kanchana 2 | Muni 4: Kanchana 3 | |||
| Producer(s) | Saran | Raghava Lawrence | Kalanithi Maran Raghava Lawrence | ||
| Director | Raghava Lawrence | ||||
| Story writer | |||||
| Screenplay writer | |||||
| Dialogue writer | Ramesh Khanna | Raghava Lawrence | |||
| Song composer(s) | Bharadwaj | S. Thaman | Doo Paa Doo | ||
| Background Score | Sangeetharajan | S. Thaman | |||
| Director of photography | K. V. Guhan | Vetri, E. Krishnasamy | Rajavel Oliveeran, R. B. Gurudev | Vetri, Sarvesh Murari | |
| Editor(s) | Suresh Urs | Kishore Te. | Ruben | ||
| Art Director(s) | Mohana Mahendran | Jana | |||
| Stunt co-ordinator | Super Subbarayan | ||||
| Production companies | Gemini Productions | Raghavendra Productions | Raghavendra Productions, Sun Pictures | ||
| Distributing company | Sun Pictures | Sun Pictures | |||
| Sri Thenandal Films | Wellborn International (Kerala) | ||||
| Running time | 153 minutes | 170 minutes | 164 minutes | 166 minutes | |
The franchise has been notable for its profit, with Muni and its follow-up having earned a combined revenue of ₹238 crore, according to IBtimes.[25]
| Film | Release date | Budget | Box office revenue | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muni | 9 March 2007 | ||||
| 22 July 2011 | [26] | ||||
| Muni 3: Kanchana 2 | 17 April 2015 | ||||
| Muni 4: Kanchana 3 | 19 April 2019 | [27] | |||
| Total | |||||
| Year | Film | Language | Cast | Notes | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Kalpana | Kannada | Upendra, Raai Laxmi, Saikumar, Babu Antony | Remake of Kanchana | [28] | |
| 2016 | Maya | Sinhalese | Ranjan Ramanayake, Pubudu Chathuranga, Giriraj Kaushalya, Nilmini Kottegoda and Upeksha Swarnamali | [29] | ||
| 2017 | Tar Tay Gyi | Burmese | Nay Toe and Shwe Thamee | [30] | ||
| Mayabini | Bengali Bangladesh | Symon Sadik, Airin Sultana, Amit Hasan | ||||
| 2020 | Laxmii | Hindi | Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Rajesh Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar and Sharad Kelkar | [31] [32] | ||
| 2016 | Kalpana 2 | Kannada | Upendra, Priyamani and Avantika Shetty | Remake of Kanchana 2 | [33] |
Along with Chandramukhi (2005), Muni became a trendsetter for horror comedy films. The success of the film inspired several other horror comedy films including the Aranmanai film series (2014) and Darling (2015).[34] [35] [36]