Aditya Sarpotdar: ‘Regional filmmakers always prioritise content over stars’

A still from Munjya

What's the recipe for a Rs 100-crore film? In a year that has largely seen movies faring poorly at the box office, Munjya - led by the relatively new face, Abhay Verma, and helmed by a Marathi filmmaker making inroads into Hindi cinema - has become a sleeper hit. The horror comedy's gross collection crossed the Rs 100-crore mark on Monday, only the third film to achieve the feat this year after Fighter and Shaitaan. A thrilled Aditya Sarpotdar attributes the strong run to the story's roots in Maharashtrian culture. "What worked is that Munjya's narrative was rooted in local Maharashtrian folklore. The story and the character were unique. When I visited theatres, most people said they were waiting to watch a movie that did not follow the storytelling template," shares the director.

With Munjya, Sarpotdar - who previously helmed Marathi offerings Faster Fene (2017) and Zombivli (2022) - revisited the folklore of a Brahmin boy who, after his death, becomes a mischievous spirit residing on a peepal tree. "A R100-crore film definitely sets the bar high. This gives us confidence to continue making films where the story and plot are the stars, where talent is preferred over star value, and where the scale is secondary to the story's emotional connect. I've made over eight feature films in Marathi. I want to follow the way I have been making films all along."

Aditya Sarpotdar

Recently, his peers from the Marathi film industry came together to celebrate the feat. He views Munjya's success as more than a personal win. "As filmmakers from the Marathi film industry, we've always supported each other. We know how difficult it has been to not only make our movies on a bigger scale in Hindi, but also to make a mark in this industry. So, the success of any of our movies is a collective success of the Marathi filmmakers' community. Now, Bollywood is opening up to regional talent as we all are realising that the audience prefers content over everything else. Regional filmmakers have always prioritised content over star power."

We can't end our chat without asking whether a sequel to Munjya is in the works. It's an emphatic yes from Sarpotdar. But before that, he will add a vampire story to producer Dinesh Vijan's horror comedy universe, with Ayushmann Khurrana. "We plan to make a fitting sequel. But as of now, I'm working on a romantic horror fantasy, tentatively titled Vampires of Vijay Nagar."