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).
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.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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).
