# Muni (film series)

Muni (transl. Sage) is an Indian Tamil-language comedy horror 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, continuing the trend of the comedy horror genre in Kollywood that began with Chandramukhi (2005). It is currently the third highest grossing Tamil film franchise.
Kanchana was remade in Kannada as Kalpana (2012). In 2016 the Sri Lankan remake Maya was released. It was unofficially remade in Burmese as Tar Tay Gyi (2017). In 2017, the Bengali language remake was released, titled Mayabini. Lawrence himself directed the Hindi remake titled Laxmii (2020). 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 | Raghava Lawrence | Lawrence, R. Sarathkumar, Lakshmi Rai | Raghava Lawrence |
| Muni 3: Kanchana 2 | 17 April 2015 | Raghava Lawrence | Lawrence, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen | Raghava Lawrence |
| Muni 4: Kanchana 3 | 19 April 2019 | Raghava Lawrence | Lawrence, Oviya, Vedika, Nikki Tamboli | Kalanithi Maran, Raghava Lawrence |
| Muni 5: Kanchana 4 † | TBA | Raghava Lawrence | Lawrence, Pooja Hegde, Nora Fatehi | Manish Shah |

### Muni (2007)

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. It earned ₹15 crore against a budget of ₹4 crore.

### Kanchana

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

### 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. It stars Raghava Lawrence, Taapsee Pannu and Kovai Sarala in lead roles. 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 was released later on 1 May 2015 in around 550 screens. Film received positive response from audience. 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.

### Kanchana 3

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

### 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.

## Recurring cast and characters

This table lists the main characters who appear in the Muni film series.
| Actors | Films | Films | Films | Films | Films |
| Actors | Muni | Muni 2: Kanchana | Muni 3: Kanchana 2 | Muni 4: Kanchana 3 | Muni 5: Kanchana 4 |
| Actors | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | 2019 | TBA |
| Raghava Lawrence | Ganesh | Raghava | Raghava & Shiva (Dual role) | Raghava & Kaali (Dual role) | Raghava |
| Kovai Sarala | Sarala | Sarala | Sarala | Sarala | Sarala |
| Sriman | | Prasad | Prasad | Prasad | TBA |
| Devadarshini | | Kamakshi | | Kamakshi | TBA |

## Crew

| Occupation | Film | Film | Film | Film | Film |
| Occupation | Muni | Muni 2: Kanchana | Muni 3: Kanchana 2 | Muni 4: Kanchana 3 | Muni 5: Kanchana 4 |
| Occupation | 2007 | 2011 | 2015 | 2019 | TBA |
| Producer(s) | Saran | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Kalanithi Maran Raghava Lawrence |
| Director | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence |
| Story writer | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence |
| Screenplay writer | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence |
| Dialogue writer | Ramesh Khanna | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence | Raghava Lawrence |
| Song composer(s) | Bharadwaj | S. Thaman | S. ThamanC. SathyaAswamithraLeon James | Doo Paa Doo | TBA |
| Background Score | Sangeetharajan | S. Thaman | S. Thaman | 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. | Kishore Te. | Ruben | TBA |
| Art Director(s) | Mohana Mahendran | Jana | Jana | Jana | TBA |
| Stunt co-ordinator | Super Subbarayan | Super Subbarayan | Super Subbarayan | Super Subbarayan | TBA |
| Production companies | Gemini Productions | Raghavendra Productions, Sri Thenandal Films | Raghavendra Productions | Raghavendra Productions, Sun Pictures |
| Distributing company | Gemini Productions | Sun Pictures | Sun Pictures | Sun Pictures | TBA |
| Distributing company | Sri Thenandal Films | Sun Pictures | Wellborn International (Kerala) | | TBA |
| Running time | 153 minutes | 170 minutes | 164 minutes | 166 minutes | TBA |

## Release and revenue
### Box office

| Film | Release date | Budget | Box office revenue |
| Muni | 9 March 2007 | | |
| Muni 2: Kanchana | 22 July 2011 | ₹7 crore (US$800,000) | ₹108 crore (US$12 million) |
| Muni 3: Kanchana 2 | 17 April 2015 | ₹18 crore (US$2.1 million) | ₹108 crore (US$12 million) |
| Muni 4: Kanchana 3 | 19 April 2019 | ₹20 crore (US$2.3 million) | ₹130 crore (US$15 million) |
| Total | Total | ₹45 crore (US$5.1 million) (four films) | ₹346 crore (US$40 million) (four films) |

## Remakes

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

## 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).