Muni (film series)

Muni
Logo
Created by	Raghava Lawrence
Original work	Muni (2007)
Owners	Gemini Productions Raghavendra Productions Sun Pictures Goldmines Telefilms
Years	2007–present
Films and television
Film(s)	Muni (2007) Kanchana (2011) Kanchana 2 (2015) Kanchana 3 (2019) Kanchana 4 (2026)
Miscellaneous
Budget	est.₹45 crore (4 films)
Box office	est.₹346 crore (4 films) (See more details

Muni, also known as Kanchana, is an Indian Tamil-language horror masala film series created and directed by Raghava Lawrence, consisting of Muni (2007), Muni 2: Kanchana (2011), Muni 3: Kanchana 2: Ganga (2015) and Muni 4: Kanchana 3 (2019). Muni 5: Kanchana 4 is in production. All films were successful at the box office and is currently the third highest grossing Tamil film franchise.

Kanchana was remade in Kannada as Kalpana (2012). ^[1] In 2016 the Sri Lankan remake Maya was released. ^[2] It was unofficially remade in Burmese as Tar Tay Gyi (2017). ^[3] In 2017, the Bengali language remake was released, titled Mayabini. ^[4] Lawrence himself directed the Hindi remake titled Laxmii (2020). ^[5] Kanchana 2 was remade in Kannada as Kalpana 2 (2016).

Films

Key

†	Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film	Release date	Director	Cast	Producer(s)
Muni	9 March 2007	Raghava Lawrence	Lawrence, Rajkiran, Vedika	Saran
Muni 2: Kanchana	22 July 2011		Lawrence, R. Sarathkumar, Lakshmi Rai	Raghava Lawrence
Muni 3: Kanchana 2	17 April 2015		Lawrence, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen
Muni 4: Kanchana 3	19 April 2019		Lawrence, Oviya, Vedika, Nikki Tamboli	Kalanithi Maran, Raghava Lawrence
Muni 5: Kanchana 4 †	TBA		Lawrence, Pooja Hegde, Nora Fatehi	Manish Shah

Muni (2007)

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. ^[6] It earned ₹15 crore against a budget of ₹4 crore. ^[7]

Kanchana

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. ^[8] The film was released on 22 July 2011 worldwide. The film's soundtrack was composed by S. Thaman. ^[9] Kanchana opened to mostly positive reviews. ^[10] The film grossed ₹108 crore worldwide becoming the second highest grossing Tamil film of 2011. ^[11]

Kanchana 2

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. ^[12] It stars Raghava Lawrence, Taapsee Pannu and Kovai Sarala in lead roles. ^[13] 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 ^[14] was released later on 1 May 2015 in around 550 screens. ^{[15] [16]} Film received positive response from audience. ^[17] 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. ^[18]

Kanchana 3

Main article: Kanchana 3

The fourth installment in this series, written and directed by Raghava. ^[19] The film was titled as Naga, ^[20] then changed to Muni 4: Kanchana 3, produced by Sun Pictures. ^[21] The film stars Raghava in a dual role with Oviya, Vedhika, Nikki Tamboli, ^[22] 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. ^[23] The film received mixed reviews from audiences, comparisons of Kanchana 1 and 2. ^{[24] [25]} It earned ₹130 crore worldwide against a budget of ₹20 crore, becoming one of the fourth highest grossing Tamil film of 2019. ^[26]

Kanchana 4

Main article: Kanchana 4

The fifth installment in this series, written and directed by Raghava, and stars Pooja Hegde and Nora Fatehi in the lead roles is in production. ^[27]

Recurring cast and characters

List indicator

• This table lists the main characters who appear in the film series.
• An empty dark grey cell indicates that the character was not in the film, or that the character's presence in the film has yet to be announced.

Actors	Films
	Muni	Muni 2: Kanchana	Muni 3: Kanchana 2	Muni 4: Kanchana 3	Muni 5: Kanchana 4
	2007	2011	2015	2019	TBA
Introduced in Muni
Raghava Lawrence	Ganesh	Raghava	Raghava & Shiva (Dual role)	Raghava & Kaali (Dual role)	Raghava
Kovai Sarala	Sarala
Vedhika	Priya			Priya
Introduced in Kanchana
Raai Laxmi		Priya
Sriman		Prasad
Devadarshini		Kamakshi		Kamakshi
Introduced in Kanchana 2
Taapsee Pannu			Nandini
Nithya Menen			Ganga
Introduced in Kanchana 3
Oviya				Kavya
Nikki Tamboli				Divya
Introduced in Kanchana 4
Pooja Hegde					TBA
Nora Fatehi					TBA

Crew

Occupation	Film
	Muni	Muni 2: Kanchana	Muni 3: Kanchana 2	Muni 4: Kanchana 3	Muni 5: Kanchana 4
	2007	2011	2015	2019	TBA
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	S. Thaman C. Sathya Aswamithra Leon James	Doo Paa Doo	TBA
Background Score	Sangeetharajan	S. Thaman			TBA
Director of photography	K. V. Guhan	Vetri E. Krishnasamy	Rajavel Oliveeran R. B. Gurudev	Vetri Sarvesh Murari	TBA
Editor(s)	Suresh Urs	Kishore Te.		Ruben	TBA
Art Director(s)	Mohana Mahendran	Jana			TBA
Stunt co-ordinator	Super Subbarayan				TBA
Production companies	Gemini Productions	Raghavendra Productions Sri Thenandal Films	Raghavendra Productions	Raghavendra Productions Sun Pictures	Goldmines Telefilms
Distributing company	Gemini Productions Sri Thenandal Films	Sun Pictures	Sun Pictures Wellborn International (Kerala)	Sun Pictures	TBA
Running time	153 minutes	170 minutes	164 minutes	166 minutes	TBA

Release and revenue

Box office

Film	Release date	Budget	Box office revenue	Ref.
Muni	9 March 2007
Muni 2: Kanchana	22 July 2011	₹7 crore (US$830,000)	₹108 crore (US$13 million)	[11]
Muni 3: Kanchana 2	17 April 2015	₹18 crore (US$2.1 million)	₹108 crore (US$13 million)	[28]
Muni 4: Kanchana 3	19 April 2019	₹20 crore (US$2.4 million)	₹130 crore (US$15 million)	[29]
Total		₹45 crore (US$5.3 million) (four films)	₹346 crore (US$41 million) (four films)

Remakes

Year	Film	Language	Cast	Notes	Ref.
2012	Kalpana	Kannada	Upendra, Raai Laxmi, Saikumar, Babu Antony	Remake of Kanchana	[30]
2016	Maya	Sinhalese	Ranjan Ramanayake, Pubudu Chathuranga, Giriraj Kaushalya, Nilmini Kottegoda and Upeksha Swarnamali		[2]
2017	Tar Tay Gyi	Burmese	Nay Toe and Shwe Thamee		[3]
	Mayabini	Bengali Bangladesh	Symon Sadik, Airin Sultana, Amit Hasan		[31]
2020	Laxmii	Hindi	Akshay Kumar, Kiara Advani, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Rajesh Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar and Sharad Kelkar		[32] [33]
2016	Kalpana 2	Kannada	Upendra, Priyamani and Avantika Shetty	Remake of Kanchana 2	[34]

Legacy

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). ^{[35] [36] [37]}

References

1. Sharadhaa, A. (18 November 2015). "Upendra' s Challenge with Kalpana". The New Indian Express.
2. Srinivasan, Meera (28 October 2017). "Now, Mersal finds a supporter in Sri Lanka". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
3. "'New wave' directors take movie industry forward". Frontier Myanmar . 7 June 2018. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
4. "Akshay Kumar to star in the Hindi remake of 'Kanchana'?". The News Minute . 19 October 2018. Archived from the original on 16 February 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
5. "Akshay Kumar film Laxmmi Bomb to premiere on Disney Plus Hotstar". The Indian Express . 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
6. "Happy Birthday, Raghava Lawrence: Five times when the actor proved he is the 'Master' of horror dramas". The Times of India. 29 October 2020 – via The Economic Times — The Times of India.
7. "Muni Review – Three cheers to Saran and Larencce". IndiaGlitz. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
8. Anupama Subramaniam DC chennai (29 February 2012). "Lawrence gearing up for a sequel". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 1 March 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
9. "Lawrence Raghava, Ritika Singh pair up for horror flick Shivalinga". 24 November 2016.
10. Ramachandran, Rohit (22 July 2011). "Kanchana Review". Nowrunning.com. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
11. Team, DNA Web. "Made for Rs 7 crore, earned Rs 108 crore, this blockbuster movie was released in..." DNA India.
12. https://www.hindustantimes.com/regional-movies/kanchana-2-new-stills-this-tantric-looks-devious/story-EJZQvmZdkh75X9kmLrMcNI.html
13. Lakshmi, V. "Taapsee is part of Ganga". The Times of India– via The Economic Times — The Times of India.
14. "'Ganga' Rechristened 'Kanchana 2'". Indo-Asian News Service. 23 February 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
15. "'Ok Kanmani', 'Kanchana 2' First Day Box Office Collection: Films of Mani Ratnam, Raghava Get Fantastic Openings Worldwide". IB Times. 18 April 2015.
16. 'Ganga' First Week Collection at AP/T Box Office: Lawrence Starrer Grosses ₹19.3 Crore in 7 Days. International Business Times. (8 May 2015). Retrieved 2015-05-29.
17. "Kanchana-2 Movie Review". The Times of India . 17 April 2015.
18. Service, Express News (6 August 2015). "Raghava Lawrence's Priceless Gift". The New Indian Express.
19. "KANCHANA 3". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019.
20. "Raghava Lawrence is on a spree". The Times of India. 16 January 2017 – via The Economic Times — The Times of India.
21. "కాంచన 3 ట్విట్టర్ రివ్యూ". Asianet News Telugu.
22. "Oviya vedhika: Oviya, Vedhika team up with Lawrencce in 'Kanchana 3'". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
23. "Kanchana 3 to hit screens on April 19". The Times of India. 11 March 2019 – via The Economic Times — The Times of India.
24. "Kanchana 3 Movie final box office collections report". thehansindia.com. 22 May 2019.
25. "'Kanchana 3' mints Rs 100 crore in a week".
26. "Tamil film 'Kanchana 3' hits the jackpot, mints Rs 100-crore in a week". The Economic Times. 27 April 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
27. Hungama, Bollywood (24 January 2025). "MEGA EXCLUSIVE: Manish Shah of Goldmine Telefilms gets back to producing films after Pushpa: The Rise – Part 01; backs Kanchana 4 starring Pooja Hegde, Nora Fatehi, Raghava Lawrence : Bollywood News — Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama .
28. "'Kanchana 2' a blockbuster, collects over Rs.100 crore". 9 June 2015.
29. "Bigil, Petta, Viswasam, Kanchana 3, Nerkonda Paarvai, Kaithi power Kollywood's theatrical takings in 2019 to Rs 1000 cr". Firstpost. 4 December 2019.
30. "Upendra to Star in Kalpana 2". Desimartini. 28 August 2015. Archived from the original on 6 April 2025.
31. "Kanchana 4: Raghava Lawrence's Return, Cast, Release Date & Everything We Know About The Film". news.abplive.com. 6 June 2024.
32. Lakshmi, V. "Akshay Kumar in the remake of Kanchana". The Times of India. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
33. "Disney Plus Hotstar Makes Strategic Choice to Bypass India's Theaters, Give More Movies Streaming Premieres". Variety. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
34. Khajane, Muralidhara (9 May 2016). "Sequel time in Sandalwood". The Hindu . Retrieved 18 May 2016.
35. "Like Chandramukhi... Horror comedy franchises in Tamil cinema | Times of India". The Times of India .
36. K. Jeshi (8 May 2015). "The funny thing about horror". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
37. Srinivasan, Sudhir (16 January 2015). "Darling: A familiar ghost serves as humour fodder, again". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.