Muni is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language horror comedy film written and directed by Raghava Lawrence, who also plays the lead role. The film also features Vedhika, Rajkiran and Rahul Dev among others play supporting roles, while the film's score is composed by S. P. Venkatesh the songs were composed by Bharathwaj. The film released on 9 March 2007 along with a Telugu dubbed version of same name and gained positive reviews and huge box office collections. Later, it was dubbed into Hindi as Pratisodh: Ek Real Revenge in 2011. In 2011, a sequel titled was released directed by Raghava Lawrence. It is the first installment in the Muni film series.
Plot
Ganesh, a young man with a deep fear of ghosts who refuses go out after 6PM, moves into a new house with his mother, father, and wife Priya. All of a sudden, Ganesh is possessed by a ghost and starts behaving in a rude manner; his family cannot understand his behaviour, so they seek the help of a priest named Andaiyar. Andaiyar asks the ghost about his past. The ghost says that he is Muniyaandi and starts revealing his flashback. Muni was a kindhearted but poor man living in the slums with his daughter. His friend is MLA Marakka Dhandapani, who uses Muni to win local elections and promises that he would give lands to the poor villagers. Dhandapani wins the election but cheats Muni. Muni fights with Dhandapani, who kills Muni and his daughter. Dhandapani lies to the poor people by saying that Muni and his daughter fled with the money that he had given Muni for the welfare of the villagers. Ganesh enters Dhandapani's household and terrorizes him and his assistants. Dhandapani comes to know that Muni's spirit is in Ganesh's body, so he gets a shaman named Mastan Bhai to save his life. Bhai bargains with Muni, who agrees to let Dhandapani go if he repents and helps the poor villagers. In the climax, at Ayyanaar temple, Dhandapani confesses to the people that he killed Muni and his daughter. He then leaves money with the villagers. Muni talks with the people and eats the feast prepared by them. Bhai tells Muni to leave Ganesh's body, and he does. However, Dhandapani lied and was planning to get back all his money from the villagers. Ganesh, upon hearing this, kills Dhandapani. Bhai sees this act but does nothing, as he finally sees the injustice done by Dhandapani.
The film's original soundtrack has been composed by Bharathwaj. Lyrics written by P. Vijay and Raghava Lawrence.
Critical reception
Muni received generally positive reviews from critics. IndiaGlitz.com called the movie a visual treat from Lawrence.
Box office
The film grossed around 15 crore worldwide and commercial success.
Sequels
, the sequel of Muni, released on 15 July 2011 in Andhra Pradeshand 22 July 2011 in Tamil Nadu with a different cast except Raghava Lawrence and Kovai Sarala and became a super-hit. Kanchana 2 was released on 16 April 2015 and also became a blockbuster. A fourth installment titled Kanchana 3 was released on 19 April 2019 and gained positive reviews and that too become a blockbuster. A fifth installment titled Muni 5: Kanchana 4 has been announced by the team.
