Kanchana also known as Muni, is an Indian Tamil-language horror masala film series created and directed by Raghava Lawrence, consisting of Muni (2007), Kanchana (2011), Kanchana 2 (2015) and Kanchana 3 (2019). 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). 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) Installment(s) Note(s) Muni 9 March 2007 Raghava Lawrence Raghava Lawrence, Rajkiran, Vedika Saran First Installment Kanchana (film series) Kanchana 22 July 2011 Raghava Lawrence, R. Sarathkumar, Lakshmi Rai Raghava Lawrence Second Installment Kanchana 2 17 April 2015 Raghava Lawrence, Taapsee Pannu, Nithya Menen Third Installment Kanchana 3 19 April 2019 Raghava Lawrence, Oviya, Vedika, Nikki Tamboli Kalanithi Maran, Raghava Lawrence Fourth Installment 2027 Raghava Lawrence, Pooja Hegde, Nora Fatehi Manish Shah Fifth and Final Installment
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 (2011)
After the success of Muni Raghava and Sarala Re-unite once again for sequel. The film was titled as 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 60 crore worldwide becoming the fifth highest grossing Tamil film of 2011.
Kanchana 2 (2015)
A stand-alone sequel, 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.'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. 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 (2019)
The fourth installment in this series, written and directed by Raghava. The film was titled as Naga, then changed to Kanchana 3, produced by Sun Pictures. The film stars Raghava in a dual role with Oviya, Vedhika, Nikki Tamboli, 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 (2027)
The fifth and final installment in this series, written and directed by Raghava, and stars Pooja Hegde and Nora Fatehi in the lead roles is in production. The film was officially announced in April 2019, coinciding with the theatrical success of Kanchana 3. Production was reportedly set to begin in 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Lawrence's acting commitments. Principal photography commenced on 23 January 2025 in Chennai and is produced by Goldmines Telefilms.
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 Kanchana Kanchana 2 Kanchana 3 Kanchana 4 Year 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 KamakshiIntroduced in Kanchana 2 Taapsee Pannu Nandini Nithya Menen Ganga Introduced in Kanchana 3 Oviya Kavya Nikki Tamboli Divya Introduced in Kanchana 4 Pooja Hegde Nora Fatehi
Crew Occupation Film Muni Muni 2: Kanchana Kanchana 2 Kanchana 3 Kanchana 4 Producer(s) Saran Raghava Lawrence Kalanithi MaranRaghava LawrenceRaghava Lawrence Director Raghava Lawrence Story writer Screenplay writer Dialogue writer Ramesh Khanna Raghava Lawrence Song composer(s) Bharadwaj S. Thaman S. ThamanC. SathyaAswamithraLeon James Doo Paa Doo Background Score Sangeetharajan S. Thaman Director of photography K. V. Guhan VetriE. Krishnasamy Rajavel OliveeranR. B. Gurudev VetriSarvesh Murari Editor(s) Suresh Urs Kishore Te. Ruben Art Director(s) Mohana Mahendran Jana Stunt co-ordinator Super Subbarayan Production companies Gemini Productions Raghavendra Productions Sri Thenandal Films Raghavendra Productions Raghavendra Productions Sun Pictures Goldmines Telefilms Distributing company Gemini ProductionsSri Thenandal Films Sun Pictures Sun PicturesWellborn International (Kerala) Sun Pictures Running time 153 minutes 170 minutes 164 minutes 166 minutes
Release and revenue Box office Film Release date Budget Box office revenue Ref.Muni9 March 2007Kanchana22 July 2011Kanchana 217 April 2015Kanchana 319 April 2019 Total
Remakes Year Film Language Cast Notes Ref.2012KalpanaKannadaUpendra, Raai Laxmi, Saikumar, Babu AntonyRemake of Kanchana2016MayaSinhaleseRanjan Ramanayake, Pubudu Chathuranga, Giriraj Kaushalya, Nilmini Kottegoda and Upeksha Swarnamali2017Tar Tay GyiBurmeseNay Toe and Shwe ThameeMayabiniBengali BangladeshSymon Sadik, Airin Sultana, Amit Hasan2020LaxmiiHindiAkshay Kumar, Kiara Advani, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Rajesh Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar and Sharad Kelkar2016Kalpana 2KannadaUpendra, Priyamani and Avantika ShettyRemake 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).
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