Last year, actors Abhay Verma and Sharvari got their big break when they arrived in theatres as Bittu and Bela with Munjya. The Aditya Sarpotdar directorial was the third installment in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe, following Stree (2018) and Bhediya (2022). Bhediya Varun Dhawan made an appearance at the end of the film whereas Munjya was mentioned in Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna’s horror comedy Thamma this year, bringing it all together. But did you know Stree and Munjya also have a crazy connection? Not Abhay but Shraddha was the first choice to play the role of Bittu in the film. Yes, you read that right.
In a recent chat with Moviefied, filmmaker Aditya Sarpotdar revealed that Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were approached for Munjya, which was originally written from a female perspective. Shraddha was almost locked and was going to play the role of a lesbian character. Aditya shared, “Yogesh Chandekar jo writer hai, usne yeh film likhi thi with a female perspective. And uski jo protagonist thi, woh female protagonist thi, jo Bittu thi, jo ladki thi. Aur uski jo story thi, usme aisa tha ki Bittu yaani ladki, she's in love with her best girlfriend. She was a lesbian and nobody understands her and only Ajii understands her and she tells Ajii that 'I'm in love with my best friend aur koi samjhega hi nahi yeh cheez ko. And then Munjya comes into the picture and how she defends her best friend. Toh uss role ke liye, we had asked a couple of actors. Usme se ek Shraddha bhi thi, Alia bhi thi. Shraddha nearly done thi, Shraddha ka look test bhi hua tha and everything was kind of working in a direction ki yahi film banne waali hai. And then I came on board.”
Explaining why the original story was changed a little, Aditya shared, “When I came on board, mujhe humesha lagta tha ki any story that you're trying to tell, uska core heart aur core narrative jo hai naa, woh ek hi hona chahiye, not multiple. Kyunki logo ko naa itni saari cheezein samajhti nahi hai. Woh ek focus rakh ke film dekhne aate hain aur unko wohi chahiye. Toh mujhe laga yeh narrative naa mere liye yeh iss film ke liye work nahi ho raha tha. Mujhe laga, kya tha naa, ki dekho ek Munjya hai, jo bhi ek ladka hai, jo pagglait ladka hai, gadha hai, 10 saal ka hai. Par jisko akkal hi nahi hai ki pyaar kya hota hai. Aur woh ek aisi ladki ke pyaar mein hai jo usse 6 saal badi hai, jiske liye woh kuchh bhi karne ko tayyiar hai. Yaani woh itna cruel ban chuka hai naa ki woh maarne ke liye bhi tayyiar hai apni behen ko. Aur ek aisa ladka doosra hai jo Bittu hai, jo bohot pyaar se, bohot shiddat se pyaar karta hai, jisko pyaar samajh mein aata hai par woh aisi ladki se jo bhi usse badi hai. But his way of looking at love is to defend it and to give up his life for it. And this fellow's way of looking at love is to take life for it. Toh mujhe woh bohot sahi lag raha tha, baith raha tha meri samajh mein. So then I suggested can we do this? And the producer said let's do this. Toh woh poora perspective and poora game hi change ho gaya.”
{{/usCountry}}Explaining why the original story was changed a little, Aditya shared, “When I came on board, mujhe humesha lagta tha ki any story that you're trying to tell, uska core heart aur core narrative jo hai naa, woh ek hi hona chahiye, not multiple. Kyunki logo ko naa itni saari cheezein samajhti nahi hai. Woh ek focus rakh ke film dekhne aate hain aur unko wohi chahiye. Toh mujhe laga yeh narrative naa mere liye yeh iss film ke liye work nahi ho raha tha. Mujhe laga, kya tha naa, ki dekho ek Munjya hai, jo bhi ek ladka hai, jo pagglait ladka hai, gadha hai, 10 saal ka hai. Par jisko akkal hi nahi hai ki pyaar kya hota hai. Aur woh ek aisi ladki ke pyaar mein hai jo usse 6 saal badi hai, jiske liye woh kuchh bhi karne ko tayyiar hai. Yaani woh itna cruel ban chuka hai naa ki woh maarne ke liye bhi tayyiar hai apni behen ko. Aur ek aisa ladka doosra hai jo Bittu hai, jo bohot pyaar se, bohot shiddat se pyaar karta hai, jisko pyaar samajh mein aata hai par woh aisi ladki se jo bhi usse badi hai. But his way of looking at love is to defend it and to give up his life for it. And this fellow's way of looking at love is to take life for it. Toh mujhe woh bohot sahi lag raha tha, baith raha tha meri samajh mein. So then I suggested can we do this? And the producer said let's do this. Toh woh poora perspective and poora game hi change ho gaya.”
{{/usCountry}}Can you imagine Shraddha as Bittu?