The Vvaan REVIEW: Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia-Led Fantasy Flick Has More Chuckles Than Thrill, Story Or Conviction

Film:
The Vvaan

Director: Deepak Kumar Mishra

Writer: Arunabh Kumar (Screenplay), Anandeshwar Dwivedi (Dialogues)

Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia, Anup Soni, Sunil Grover, Shweta Tiwari and Maniesh Paul

Runtime: 136 Minutes (2 Hours, 16 Minutes)

Platform: In Theatres

The Vvaan Review

At a time when a devotional film like Hanuman Ansh is dominating the box office, here comes The Vvaan: Force Of The Forrest, a fantasy actioner infused a folklore story and Chhath Puja that struggle to make you feel anything spiritual. It’s a fun, one-time watch it you have a couple of hours and a thousand bucks (ticket and snack costs) to spare, but it isn’t something that will give you chills or thrills.

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The Vvaan revolves around Rishi (Sidharth Malhotra) and what happens when he returns to his village after six years during the festival of Chhath Puja. Rishi is an architect who lives in Mumbai with his wife, Mamta (Tamannaah Bhatia). While the couple is happy, they fell complete without a child. Despite all their reports being clear, they have been unable to conceive for a long time.

In the village, Rishi’s elder brother and sister-in-law (played by Anuup Soni and Shweta Tiwari) urge the couple to come home for Chhath as they have something important to discuss – the sale of an anstrestral land. Rishi, who has been putting off returning to his hometown for years, finally agrees to go due to growing financial pressure and the need to opt for IVF to make his family whole. Along with the couple, Rishi’s friend, Ved (Maniesh Paul) also travel to the village for festival.

In the village, Rishi decides he wants to sell his share of the land for 5x the actual price for a highway to run through a sacred forest that no one is permitted to enter or be in once the sun sets. While the villagers oppose the proposed project, Rishi and Deepak (Sunil Grover) – an aspiring politician, remain adamant. This sets in motion a supernatural chain of events that unfortunately has more chills than thrills.

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Read our honest The Vvaan review before you book you tickets.

What Works

The pace of the film is good and keeps you hooked. The jokes and meta references will 100% make you chuckle. The introduction of the Vvaan devi and the history is interesting.

What Doesn’t Work

The acting could have been stronger. The editing is choppy. The second half is a rollercoaster where you don’t know what’s happening but can still predict what will happen. The climax fails to gives goosebumps despite there being divinity present.

Technical Analysis

Story, Sceenplay & Dialogues

The story written by Arunabh Kumar may have been a thrilling fantasy film when it was conceptualised in 2024, not the watered down version of comedy, drama and tit-bits of devotions we are presented. The story that takes place during Chhath Puja doesn’t give the festival much prominent, in fact, even the Vvaan devi seems less divine.

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We know comedy and horror is a good combination, but that doesn’t mean that you use and re-use the same joke – an old lady being perceived as a vampire/daayan/betal time and time again – it gets boring. While the writing lags and is one of the main reasons The Vvaan fails to click, the dialogues penned by Anandeshwar Dwivedi do make you laugh, chuckle and use your brains to understand their references. That a positive.

Direction

Deepak Kumar Mishra started strong but by the time the interval draws near you know you are likely to get a film that doesn’t live up to expectations. In the first half builds, Deepak manages to build curiosity, get the audience interested in knowing more about the devi, the heir of the King and the forces dwelling in the forest, but in the latter, everything gets mixed in a manner that may get you to say, “Arey rey, raitaa phail gaya”

VFX & Editing

The VFX is decent, nothing to clap about or shame for. The editing is all over the place. While the runtime is decent, reusing the same kind of jokes to just add to the narrative could have been chopped. But then that would also mean less laughter!’

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Music

While the background score is decent, the songs seems unnecessary and distract from the narrative.

Star Cast

Sidharth Malhotra is okay but he could have been better. It’s like him playing any other character, there’s nothing new. He is the hero but that power seems missing. Tamannaah – who is essentially the one who bring the emotions to the narrative, is okay but we wish there was more substance to her than just wanting to become a mother. There chemistry is sizzling but you know its fake, the spark is missing.

Anuup Soni and Shweta Tiwari are aces when it comes to acting and it shows. Their chemistry feels real. Sunil Grover as the antagonist was a smart casting choice and he 100% delivers. Maniesh Paul and Sulabha Arya’s comic timing is undoubtedly one of the best seen on the big screen in recent times.

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Conclusion

The Vvaan: Force Of The Forrest had genuine potential to capture the hearts of the audience y telling a fantasy horror tale with a forest deity (Goddess) and Chhath Puja at the centre. It could have snowballed into what the MHCU (Maddock Horror Comedy Universe) is today by delivering something that is rooted in a our mythology, but instead, it got lost in the forest and gives us nothing much about Chhath Puja or the deity.

In the midst of the family drama, politics, greed and songs, the Goddess, devotion to Chhathi Maiya and folklore is lost. If you want a good laugh, do watch it, else give it a skip. Reason for the skip – it falters when it comes to deliver the things it promised – thrill and devotion.

Watch the trailer of The Vvaan: Force Of The Forrest here:

Also Read: Don’t Be Shy REVIEW: Aarushi Bajaj, Piyush Khati, Bianca Arora & Ansh Duggal’s Performances Get Lost In A Bland & Predictable Storyline

Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.