WHY ALIA BHATT DIDN’T STAR IN MUNJYA? DIRECTOR ADITYA SARPOTDAR REVEALS: 'IN LOVE WITH AN OLDER GIRL...'
Sharvari Wagh and Abhay Verma’s recent hit film, Munjya, has been making waves at the box office, surpassing Rs 100 crore in collections. But did you know that Alia Bhatt and Shraddha Kapoor were initially considered for the film? Director Aditya Sarpotdar shed light on this in a recent interview.
In a chat with The Indian Express, Aditya confirmed that the film’s script underwent significant changes after he joined the project. Originally penned by Yogesh Chandekar, the story was envisioned with a female protagonist in love with her teenage best friend. “Yogesh saw the film as a female-led narrative, with the conflict being her love for her teenage best friend,” Aditya explained.
However, Aditya felt disconnected from this perspective and decided to reinterpret the story. “I didn’t resonate with the social referencing of the original script. Instead, I saw it as a story about two young men, both in love with an older girl. One respected her deeply and believed in consent, while the other was obsessed and went to extreme lengths, even contemplating murder,” he said.
Aditya's vision was to explore these parallel narratives. He emphasized the importance of casting younger actors to avoid the cliché of older men falling for younger women. “I wanted a 19-year-old who believes he’s in love with an older girl. He’s at a stage where he doesn’t fully understand life, and that’s his journey. Abhay Verma perfectly fits this role; he looks the part and is believable.”
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Aditya also discussed the integration of Munjya into a larger cinematic universe, connecting it with films like Stree and Bhediya. “We have plans for Munjya to enter this universe, similar to how Bhediya did. That’s why Varun Dhawan appeared in a scene instead of Rajkummar Rao or Shraddha Kapoor. We aim to create stronger connections, leading to crossovers and integrations in future films,” he revealed.