The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest Movie Review: A mysterious forest, an ancient village legend, Chhath Puja, a grieving couple, and a supernatural force guarding forbidden land—The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest certainly doesn’t lack ideas. Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, the fantasy thriller brings together Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia in a story deeply rooted in Bihar’s folklore and traditions.
The film has an intriguing world waiting to be explored. But once the mystery begins unfolding, The Vvaan keeps adding new layers, characters, and explanations until the central story starts getting buried beneath its own ambition.
And that becomes the film’s biggest problem.
What Is The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest About?
The story follows Rishi, played by Sidharth Malhotra, a Mumbai-based engineer who returns to his ancestral village in Bihar with his wife Mamta, played by Tamannaah Bhatia.
Their visit is connected to Chhath Puja, but there is another reason behind Rishi’s return. He wants to deal with inherited land, which brings him face-to-face with a part of the village that locals consider sacred.
At the centre of the mystery is a forbidden forest associated with Van Devi, an ancient belief that has been passed through generations.
What begins as a fairly grounded family and property conflict gradually turns into something much darker. Rishi, who has become increasingly rational and disconnected from his earlier faith, is forced to confront a world where folklore, belief, and supernatural events begin colliding with reality.
A Couple Carrying More Than Just Family Baggage
One of the film’s more interesting ideas is the emotional history shared by Rishi and Mamta.
The couple has been trying to have a child after suffering a devastating loss years earlier. Their unsuccessful attempts to become parents have taken them through different forms of treatment and left a deep emotional impact on their relationship.
Mamta remains deeply connected to faith, while Rishi has moved in the opposite direction.
That difference becomes important once they arrive in a village where religious traditions and folklore are woven into everyday life.
The setup could have provided the film with a powerful emotional foundation. At times, it does. But the screenplay eventually becomes so occupied with its supernatural mythology that the couple’s personal journey doesn’t always receive the attention it deserves.
Sidharth Malhotra Brings Conviction to Rishi
Sidharth Malhotra plays Rishi as a relatively restrained protagonist rather than turning him into an immediately larger-than-life action hero.
The character’s biggest internal conflict is his relationship with belief.
Rishi once accepted the village’s stories about Van Devi, but his experiences have pushed him towards rationalism. Returning home forces him to confront beliefs that he had effectively left behind.
Sidharth handles the physical side of the role comfortably, particularly once the film moves into its action-heavy portions. However, the screenplay doesn’t always give him enough room to fully explore Rishi’s emotional crisis.
That makes him more convincing as a reluctant action protagonist than as a man wrestling deeply with his faith.
Tamannaah Bhatia Gives the Film Its Emotional Warmth
Tamannaah Bhatia plays Mamta, whose desire to become a mother again becomes one of the emotional threads running through the story.
Her character is more closely connected to faith than Rishi, and the Chhath sequences give Tamannaah some of the film’s most sincere moments.
She brings warmth and restraint to Mamta, especially when the character’s devotion and personal grief come together.
The problem is that the writing gradually shifts attention away from the couple and towards the larger supernatural conflict. As a result, Mamta’s emotional journey feels less developed than the premise initially promises.
Bihar and Chhath Puja Give The Film a Distinct Identity
This is arguably where The Vvaan is at its most effective.
The film doesn’t simply use Bihar as a backdrop. Its cultural setting is closely connected to the story.
The Chhath Puja sequences, village rituals, and local beliefs give the film an atmosphere that separates it from a generic horror-fantasy movie.
The festival portions in particular bring texture to the world, with the traditions allowed enough space to feel like part of the characters’ lives rather than simply decorative scenes added for visual effect.
The filmmakers also incorporated Chhath-related rituals during the film’s promotional campaign in Bihar, reinforcing the connection between the movie and the region’s cultural traditions.
The Forest Is the Real Character
The forbidden forest is where the movie’s strongest visual ideas come together.
Dense greenery, mist, darkness, and supernatural imagery create an atmosphere that occasionally feels genuinely mysterious.
The forest is not simply a location where the action happens. It represents the clash between development and tradition, human greed and nature, and rational thinking and belief.
This is an excellent foundation for a folk-horror story.
Unfortunately, the film sometimes explains its mysteries too quickly instead of allowing the forest and its legends to remain unsettling.
That reduces some of the tension that the premise naturally creates.
The Vvaan Has Too Many Ideas
This is where the film starts losing focus. There is a sacred forest. There is Van Devi. There is an ancient legend. There is a grieving couple. There is a land dispute. There is a conflict involving development. There are supernatural forces. There is comedy. There is action. There are family secrets.
Individually, these elements could support a rich fantasy thriller. The problem is that the screenplay tries to give almost everything significant space.
As a result, the movie sometimes feels like several different films competing for attention.
India Today similarly noted that the film contains several rich ideas but that its crowded plotting and uneven execution dilute their impact.
When Folklore Turns Into a Supernatural Thriller
The early portions are arguably more interesting because the film allows the mystery to breathe.
The audience is introduced to village beliefs, the forest, and the strange stories surrounding it.
But as the movie progresses, the supernatural conflict becomes increasingly conventional.
Instead of allowing the folklore to remain mysterious, the screenplay increasingly relies on explanations and revelations to move the story forward.
That makes the latter portion less intriguing than the setup.
The film’s central folklore could have carried an entire movie by itself. Instead, additional plot elements keep getting added.
Sunil Grover Takes a Different Route
One of the more unexpected casting choices is Sunil Grover, who steps away from the comic territory audiences usually associate with him.
He plays a considerably darker character, and the actor clearly attempts to bring a more serious presence to the role.
There are moments when his unpredictability works well.
However, the character’s trajectory eventually becomes easier to anticipate, which reduces some of the intended impact.
Still, Grover’s performance adds an interesting contrast to the otherwise serious atmosphere.
Maniesh Paul Provides Some Much-Needed Lighter Moments
Maniesh Paul plays VP, Rishi’s camera-carrying friend.
His comic timing gives the movie occasional relief from its heavy folklore and supernatural material.
Some of his jokes are deliberately broad, but his energetic performance helps break up the seriousness of the story.
He becomes particularly useful during stretches where the film’s mythology begins to feel overly dense.
Anup Soni and Shweta Tiwari
Anup Soni and Shweta Tiwari contribute to the film’s village ensemble, helping establish the social world surrounding Rishi and Mamta.
Both performers are dependable, although the screenplay doesn’t give their characters enough room to become major emotional forces within the narrative.
This is another consequence of the film’s crowded structure: there are plenty of characters, but not enough time to develop all of them properly.
The Visuals Are Better Than the Writing
One of The Vvaan’s more consistent strengths is its visual presentation.
Cinematographer Manu Anand uses foliage, shadows, mist, and natural textures to give the forest a distinctive atmosphere.
The supernatural imagery also attempts to create a larger-than-life fantasy world, including mystical manifestations and a supernatural tiger.
Some effects work reasonably well, while others don’t always have the polish expected from a big-screen fantasy thriller.
Still, visually, the film often comes closer to the folklore atmosphere it promises than the screenplay does.
Music and Folk Elements
The music complements the regional setting.
The film uses folk-inspired chants and devotional elements to strengthen its connection with Bihar’s cultural environment.
The Chhath sequences, in particular, benefit from this approach.
Rather than treating the music as just another commercial ingredient, the soundtrack occasionally helps the film establish the spiritual atmosphere surrounding the village and its traditions.
The Biggest Problem Is the Screenplay
At its heart, The Vvaan has the ingredients of a fascinating Indian folk thriller.
Imagine a story built around:
A forbidden forest.
An ancient goddess.
A village legend.
A couple carrying unresolved grief.
A rationalist forced to confront his childhood beliefs.
That’s a strong cinematic premise.
But the screenplay doesn’t always trust those ingredients.
Instead, it keeps introducing additional twists and explanations.
The result is a film where the idea is often more compelling than the execution.
The Times of India review similarly described the premise and visual ambition as strengths while pointing to rushed character development and a more conventional supernatural conflict as limitations.
Does The Vvaan Deliver Enough Horror?
Not exactly in the conventional sense.
The movie has supernatural imagery and moments designed to create fear, but it is more accurately described as a folklore-based fantasy thriller with horror elements.
The atmosphere is often more effective than the actual scares.
The forest, darkness, rituals, and mysterious mythology create an eerie environment, but the film doesn’t consistently turn that atmosphere into sustained suspense.
For viewers expecting a full-fledged horror movie, this distinction is important.
Faith vs Rationalism
One of the film’s more interesting themes is the tension between belief and rational thought.
Rishi represents a modern, educated perspective. The village represents a worldview in which stories, rituals, and nature are deeply interconnected.
Initially, these two perspectives seem destined to clash.
The film has an opportunity here to explore an important question:
Can rationality and faith exist alongside each other, or must one completely defeat the other?
This theme gives The Vvaan more substance than a straightforward supernatural adventure.
Unfortunately, the later storytelling becomes more focused on resolving the external conflict than exploring this philosophical question in depth.
The Environmental Angle
The sacred forest also introduces an environmental dimension.
The conflict over land and development creates a tension between commercial interests and the preservation of a place considered sacred by the local community.
This could have become one of the film’s strongest themes because it naturally connects folklore with a contemporary issue.
But as the story moves deeper into fantasy territory, this grounded conflict receives less attention.
That makes the film feel less cohesive than it could have been.
The Second Half Is Where Things Become Uneven
The first half benefits from curiosity.
Who is Van Devi?
What is inside the forest?
Why is the village so protective of it?
What happened to the people connected to the legend?
These questions create anticipation.
But the second half starts answering those questions while simultaneously introducing new ones.
The increasing number of revelations makes the plot more complicated without always making it more emotionally compelling.
Several contemporary reviews have identified the second half and climax as areas where the film loses momentum.
Is The Vvaan Worth Watching?
If you enjoy Indian folklore, supernatural mysteries, village-based fantasy and mythology-inspired cinema, there is enough here to make the film interesting.
The cultural setting, forest atmosphere, and central premise are genuinely intriguing.
However, viewers looking for a tightly written horror thriller may find the storytelling too crowded.
The film isn’t short on ambition. If anything, it has too much of it.
The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest — Final Verdict
The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest starts with a fascinating cinematic promise.
A grieving couple returns to Bihar. A sacred forest stands at the centre of an old legend. A rational man is forced to question everything he once believed. And somewhere inside that forest is a mystery that the village has protected for generations.
That is the movie’s strongest idea.
Sidharth Malhotra gives Rishi sincerity and physical conviction, while Tamannaah Bhatia brings emotional warmth to Mamta. Sunil Grover, Maniesh Paul, Anup Soni and Shweta Tiwari add variety to the ensemble. Visually, the film also succeeds in creating moments where the forest feels mysterious and alive.
But the screenplay keeps adding new ingredients instead of allowing its central folklore to breathe.
The Vvaan has a world worth exploring, but the film sometimes gets lost while trying to explain everything inside it.
For audiences drawn to Indian folklore and supernatural adventures, it can still offer an interesting theatrical experience. For everyone else, the film’s uneven writing may make the journey through the forest feel longer than it needs to be.
The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest — Movie Details
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie | The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest |
| Release Date | September 25, 2026 |
| Director | Deepak Kumar Mishra |
| Lead Cast | Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia |
| Supporting Cast | Sunil Grover, Anup Soni, Shweta Tiwari, Maniesh Paul |
| Genre | Fantasy / Mystery / Thriller |
| Language | Hindi |
| Runtime | Approximately 2 hours 17 minutes |
| Setting | Bihar |
| Central Themes | Folklore, faith, nature, grief, and supernatural mystery |
The film was released theatrically on September 25, 2026, and is directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, with Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What is The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest about?
The film follows Rishi and Mamta, a married couple who return to their ancestral village in Bihar during Chhath Puja. Their visit brings them into a mystery involving an ancient legend, Van Devi, and a forbidden forest.
2. Who stars in The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest?
The film stars Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles. Sunil Grover, Anup Soni, Shweta Tiwari, and Maniesh Paul are among the supporting cast.
3. Who directed The Vvaan?
The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest is directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, known for his work on Panchayat.
4. Is The Vvaan a horror movie?
It combines folklore, fantasy, mystery, and supernatural elements, with horror elements forming part of the overall experience. It is better described as a folklore-based fantasy thriller than as a conventional horror film.
5. What is the role of Chhath Puja in The Vvaan?
Chhath Puja is an important part of the film’s setting and cultural atmosphere. The festival is connected to the couple’s return to Bihar and gives the story a strong regional identity.
6. Is The Vvaan based on a real folklore story?
The film draws on Bihar’s folk beliefs and legends surrounding Van Devi and a sacred or forbidden forest. It uses these elements as the foundation for its fictional supernatural story.
7. How is Sidharth Malhotra’s performance?
Sidharth brings sincerity and physical conviction to Rishi, particularly in the film’s action-oriented portions. However, the screenplay gives him comparatively less room to deeply explore Rishi’s internal conflict over faith and rationality.
8. How is Tamannaah Bhatia in The Vvaan?
Tamannaah gives Mamta warmth and restraint, especially during the Chhath-related scenes. Her character’s emotional journey, however, becomes less prominent as the supernatural plot takes over.
9. Is The Vvaan worth watching?
The film may appeal to viewers who enjoy Indian folklore, mythology-inspired fantasy, supernatural mysteries, and village-set thrillers. Its strong premise and atmosphere are balanced by an uneven screenplay and a crowded second half.
10. What is the main theme of The Vvaan?
The film brings together faith and rationalism, folklore and modernity, nature and development, and personal grief against the backdrop of a mysterious forest.