In a village in the Konkan, a youngish man invents a ghost to escape from a sticky situation. One fib leads to another and then another.The people of Korgaon firmly believe that Keshav (Om Bhutkar) has been possessed by the ghost of the elderly Manjula from the neighbouring village. Neighbours and even members of Keshav’s family scatter at the very sight of him, terrified at what he (or she) might do to them. A form of Chinese whispers leads to the rapid spread of fake news. Every tale gets taller in its retelling.Even Ravi Anna (Jitendra Joshi), Korgaon’s go-to consultant for anything under the sun, is spooked by Keshav. The godman Karunakaran (Makarand Anaspure) is called to perform an exorcism. Manjula’s daughter Shobha (Sai Tamhankar) is invited to provide proof of death, as it were.Vividh Korgaonkar’s Tumbadchi Manjula, a Marathi remake of JP Thuminad’s Kannada blockbuster Su From So, works hard to capture the source movie’s absurdist humour and satirical take on superstition. The effort shows, with few actors able to replicate the harum-scarum flavour or the effortless chaos that made Su From So special, and so endearing.Jitendra Joshi and Anshuman Vichare in Tumbadchi Manjula (2026). Courtesy ZStudios.The Marathi version, written by Rushikesh Turai with dialogue by Turai and Yogesh Shirsat, retains the concern with violence against women. Sai Tamhankar is the most memorable performer in the 152-minute film, her character Shobha’s suffering providing Keshav with a solution to his self-invented lie. Makarand Anaspure has some of the funnier scenes as the charlatan godman.Some of the other important casting choices don’t pay off. Jitendra Joshi plays the beloved Ravi Anna as a mildly menacing rural ruffian. Om Bhutkar is an odd fit too as the lovelorn Keshav.The film’s tone is set by the reliably loud Usha Nadkarni, playing a selectively low-sighted store owner. Tumbadchi Manjula comes off as slapstick, the attack on gullibility and blind faith lost somewhere between Keshav’s fibs and Ravi Anna’s controlling ways. The Marathi adaptation is so-so.