The Vvaan Movie Review: Sidharth Malhotra Enters A Rooted Folklore Fantasy That Almost Gets It Right

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5

The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest arrives with an intriguing proposition: take a relatively rooted piece of Indian folklore, place it against the cultural backdrop of Bihar and Chhath Puja, and build a mainstream supernatural entertainer around it.

On paper, it is an unusually promising combination.

The film brings together Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead, with Deepak Kumar Mishra — the director associated with Panchayat — attempting to translate folklore, faith, family drama and fantasy into a theatrical spectacle.

Produced by Ektaa Kapoor and TVF, The Vvaan clearly wants to be more than a conventional horror film. It wants to create its own mythology.

And there are stretches when it genuinely does.

But the film also illustrates an old cinematic truth: having fascinating ingredients is not the same as knowing how to balance them.

Check my The Vvaan movie review which explores Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia’s folklore fantasy, performances, story, visuals, strengths and weaknesses.

The Vvaan Movie Review:

Story: A promising folk tale at its heart

The film takes us to Devanchal, where Rishi (Sidharth Malhotra) returns to his ancestral village with his wife Mamta (Tamannaah Bhatia).

Rishi has become a rationalist after suffering a deeply personal tragedy. Mamta, meanwhile, remains connected to faith and tradition, particularly through her devotion to Chhathi Maiya.

Their return coincides with an ancient legend surrounding the village and its forbidden forest. According to local belief, a powerful supernatural force has been trapped inside the forest for generations, protected by Van Devi.

There is also an ancient bracelet linked to the village’s rightful heir — an object that becomes central to the larger mystery.

What makes this premise interesting is the contradiction at its centre.

A man who has lost his faith may be the very person destined to restore it.

That is a strong emotional foundation for a fantasy film. The conflict between belief and rationality, grief and hope, tradition and modern development could have given The Vvaan considerable dramatic depth.

Unfortunately, the screenplay eventually becomes more interested in expanding its mythology than exploring its characters.

Screenplay: The first half builds intrigue, the second loses control

The first half is where The Vvaan is at its most effective.

The film establishes its world quickly, introduces the village and its belief system without excessive spoon-feeding, and gradually builds curiosity around the forest.

The village-versus-city contrast also works well. The film understands that its heartland setting shouldn’t merely be used as decoration. Family structures, religious practices and the tension between development and tradition are woven into the narrative.

The Chhath sequences are particularly effective because they feel lived-in rather than manufactured for spectacle.

But somewhere along the way, the film starts adding too much.

There is folklore. There is family drama. There is grief. There is faith. There is a development-versus-tradition conflict. There is a supernatural entity. There is an ancient bloodline. There are action sequences. There is comedy.

Individually, these elements are interesting.

Together, they occasionally compete for the film’s attention.

The biggest problem arrives when the mystery gives way to exposition and conventional good-versus-evil action. The film’s eerie folk atmosphere gradually gets replaced by louder, more conventional fantasy spectacle.

The climax does attempt to go big, and for viewers invested in the mythology, it can provide a satisfying theatrical payoff. But dramatically, the film has already spent too much time explaining its mythology instead of preserving the mystery that made the premise interesting in the first place. Contemporary reviews similarly identify the screenplay as the film’s major weakness, particularly in the latter portions.

Sidharth Malhotra: A different side of the actor

Sidharth Malhotra gets an interesting character arc as Rishi.

He begins as a relatively grounded, rational man who has distanced himself from the beliefs of his childhood. That makes his eventual confrontation with the supernatural considerably more meaningful than if he had simply been a believer from the beginning.

Malhotra handles the quieter portions well.

He is particularly effective in the lighter scenes early on, where the film allows his comic timing to come through. His interactions with Maniesh Paul provide some of the film’s easiest laughs.

As the story progresses, Rishi becomes increasingly unpredictable and physically involved in the conflict, allowing Malhotra to move into a more action-oriented mode.

The performance is not flawless, but there is enough commitment to make the transformation convincing.

Tamannaah Bhatia is the emotional soul of the film

If Sidharth provides the film with its central physical presence, Tamannaah Bhatia provides much of its emotional weight.

As Mamta, she plays a woman carrying grief while holding tightly to her faith. Her desire to become a mother again gives the character a vulnerability that the supernatural portions of the film sometimes lack.

The Chhathi Maiya sequence is particularly effective.

Tamannaah brings sincerity to the devotional material rather than treating it as merely a visual set piece. Her performance gives the film a human centre, especially when the mythology becomes increasingly elaborate.

This is one of her more interesting performances because she isn’t simply required to play the romantic lead. She has to communicate devotion, emotional loss, hope and resilience — often without excessive dialogue.

Her chemistry with Sidharth is also understated and works best when the film allows the couple to simply exist together rather than forcing romantic moments.

Sunil Grover is the surprise package

Sunil Grover gets perhaps the most unexpected character in the film.

The actor moves away from the comic territory audiences usually associate him with and embraces a darker, more dramatic role.

Without revealing the crucial twist, his character becomes increasingly important to the supernatural conflict.

Grover plays the transformation with conviction, although the writing eventually makes his trajectory more predictable than the initial setup suggests.

Still, the casting itself is a pleasant surprise.

Maniesh Paul brings much-needed energy

Maniesh Paul is one of the film’s most enjoyable supporting players.

As VP, he injects humour whenever the film becomes too heavy. His comic timing works particularly well in his scenes with Sidharth, and he understands exactly how much energy the character needs.

Not every joke lands, but Paul’s commitment makes even some of the sillier moments watchable.

The rest of the supporting cast, including Anup Soni and Shweta Tiwari, provide dependable performances, although their characters could have been developed further.

The visuals are among the film’s strongest elements

One cannot discuss The Vvaan without acknowledging its visual ambition.

The film makes good use of real locations, atmospheric landscapes, production design and VFX to create a distinct folklore-driven world.

The village and forest don’t feel interchangeable with the usual Hindi-film fantasy locations. There is an attempt to give the story a geographical and cultural identity.

The Chhath portions are particularly beautiful, with the rituals and crowds adding scale without losing their cultural texture.

The VFX are more uneven.

Some supernatural imagery works effectively, while certain creatures and larger fantasy elements appear noticeably digital. The film occasionally asks the VFX to do too much, and that reduces the sense of realism established by its grounded first half.

Still, from a visual-design perspective, there is considerably more ambition here than in a routine supernatural entertainer.

Music and the devotional atmosphere

The devotional elements are integral to the film rather than simply being inserted between action sequences.

The Chhath portions, in particular, benefit from the music and atmosphere surrounding them.

The film understands that faith is not merely a plot device for these characters — it is part of their everyday existence.

That rootedness is one of The Vvaan’s biggest advantages.

What works

• An unusual and culturally rooted folklore premise
• Strong opening setup
• Effective village-versus-city conflict
• Chhath Puja sequences are beautifully mounted
• Tamannaah Bhatia’s emotionally grounded performance
• Sidharth Malhotra gets a different kind of role
• Sunil Grover provides an unexpected dramatic turn
• Maniesh Paul adds effective comic relief
• Ambitious production design and visual world
• The climax delivers theatrical scale

What doesn’t work

• The screenplay becomes increasingly crowded
• The second half loses some of the mystery established earlier
• Too much mythology is explained instead of allowed to breathe
• The supernatural conflict eventually becomes conventional
• Some VFX lack polish
• Several supporting characters are underdeveloped
• The emotional journey of Rishi and Mamta deserved more attention

Final verdict

The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest is an ambitious attempt to bring Indian folklore to mainstream Hindi cinema, and its ambition deserves to be acknowledged.

The film’s greatest achievement is its world. There is something refreshing about seeing a supernatural story emerge from the folklore, rituals and cultural landscape of the Indian heartland rather than borrowing its mythology from familiar global horror templates.

Its best moments are genuinely engaging — particularly the early mystery, the Chhath sequences, Tamannaah’s emotional performance and the gradual transformation of Sidharth’s character.

But the film becomes less compelling once it starts explaining everything.

The first half makes you curious about the forest. The second half increasingly tells you what to think about it.

That difference is crucial.

Deepak Kumar Mishra clearly has an instinct for rooted storytelling, and the film’s production design and cultural texture demonstrate considerable thought. But the screenplay needed greater restraint. Had it trusted its folklore more and its exposition less, The Vvaan could have been a far more haunting experience.

Still, there is enough here for audiences who enjoy Indian folklore, supernatural mysteries, devotional themes and theatrical fantasy.

It is not a flawless film, but it is certainly not a routine one either.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5

Verdict: An ambitious folklore fantasy with a strong first half, impressive cultural texture and committed performances — but an increasingly uneven screenplay prevents it from becoming the genre-defining spectacle it occasionally threatens to be.

Lead Image: Balaji Telefilms, TVF, District

Also Read:

Toxic OTT Release: When And Where To Watch Yash’s Film Online