Filmmaker Aditya Sarpotdar, known for his recent release ‘Thamma’, has revealed an intriguing behind-the-scenes story about his 2024 horror-comedy hit ‘Munjya’. The director disclosed that actor Shraddha Kapoor was originally supposed to play a lesbian character in the film before the script underwent a major transformation.

In a recent interview with Moviefied, Aditya shared that the film’s writer, Yogesh Chandekar, had initially conceived Munjya from a female perspective, with a female protagonist named Bittu, portrayed as a lesbian. The original concept revolved around Bittu’s emotional journey and her love for her best friend, a storyline that Shraddha Kapoor had even done a look test for.

“This was the original story. Yogesh Chandekar, the writer, had written this film with a female perspective and a female protagonist. Bittu was a girl then. She’s in love with her best friend. She’s a lesbian. Nobody understands her. Only Rajji understands her,” Aditya said.

“She tells Rajji, ‘I’m in love with my best friend, nobody would get that.’ And then, Munjya enters the picture and she defends her best friend,” he added.

Aditya revealed that both Shraddha Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were considered for the role, but Shraddha was finalised after the look test. However, once Aditya officially joined the project as director, he decided to alter the narrative to make it more focused and cohesive.

“I always feel that the core heart and the core narrative of a film should always be the same, not multiple. The audience doesn’t get too many things, they come to focus on only one, and that’s what they want,” he explained.

The director then proposed transforming the protagonist Bittu from female to male, ultimately casting Abhay Verma in the role. According to Aditya, this change allowed for a stronger parallel between the human character and the ghostly creature, Munjya.

“Both Munjya and Bittu love women older than themselves. The difference is, Munjya becomes destructively obsessed, while Bittu chooses selfless love and sacrifice,” Aditya noted.

“That contrast became the emotional core of the film. Once we made that change, the entire perspective of the story shifted and that's where the game changed.”

Munjya, released on June 7, 2024, went on to become a massive box-office success, collecting ₹127.95 crore in India and ₹132.13 crore worldwide. The film starred Abhay Verma, Sharvari Wagh, Mona Singh, Taran Singh, Suhas Joshi, and Sathyaraj in key roles.