The Vvaan Review: An intriguing folklore concept that gets lost in its own mythology
The Vvaan Rating: 3 Stars
Watched The Vvaan movie in Cinema. Let’s focus on the complete details, story, positive/negatives and at last my view on this movie.
Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia, Anup Soni, Sunil Grover, Shweta Tiwari and Maniesh Paul
Director: Deepak Kumar Mishra
Release Date: 25th September 2026 in cinemas
Story: Movie revolves around Rishi (Sidharth Malhotra) and his wife Mamta (Tamannaah Bhatia) who lives in Mumbai. He is a civil engineer by profession, and his wife is a schoolteacher. A rational, self-professed atheist, Rishi has stayed away from his hometown Devanchal following an incident six years earlier that left Mamta and him deeply distressed. It also shows how his family ties then get affected due to it.
His brother Shashi (Anup Soni) invites him this year to celebrate Chhath Puja and both returns to home, and the main reason was to resolve an ancestral property dispute, sell his inherited land and move on. Mamta continues to find comfort in religion, while Rishi, once a devotee of the forest goddess Van Devi, has lost his faith. Their opposing beliefs become central to a story that mixes personal grief with ancient mythology.
There’s a tradition being followed since the 7th century that commoners cannot enter a forest in Purvanchal near Patna after sunset for fear that calamity would strike. However, the Raja’s descendants are allowed to enter the forest at all hours because the Goddess of the forest had given an anklet to the Raja in the 7th century for the family to wear, which would protect the wearer. It is believed that a ferocious tiger attacks the person who enters the forest after sunset.
The panchayat in Purvanchal has two proposals from the authorities: to have a road constructed from outside the forest for their convenience, or to grant permission to make the road from inside the forest. While Deepak (Sunil Grover) is keen to grant permission for the road from the forest, most of the other inhabitants of the region are against the idea for fear of inviting the wrath of the forest Goddess.
Rishi supports Deepak whereas Shashi and his wife Sushila (Shweta Tiwari) are not in favor of the road being constructed from inside the forest. Why doesn’t Rishi believe in the centuries-old stories about the forest Goddess. What is wife Mamta’s stance? Why does Deepak want the road to pass through the forest? Is it only for extra money or is there another ulterior motive? What is the truth about the ferocious tiger? What happens finally? What follows is an elaborate battle between good and evil, with Rishi discovering his destiny as the village’s protector.
Positives
1. Performances
2. Cinematography
3. Music
4. First Half
5. Story
Negatives
1. Length
2. Climax
3. Uneven Screenplay
4. Direction
Durgesh Tiwary’s View: When I watched the trailer of this film plan to watch it on its release date as liked the trailer and also big fan of TVF content. Rishi returns to his ancestral village in Bihar to sell inherited land but encounters an ancient folklore surrounding Vandevi and a forbidden forest, forcing him to confront greed, supernatural forces and an awakening evil.
The Vvaan film is based around Indian folklore and combines elements of supernatural fantasy, mythology, action and thriller. The film has several interesting ideas. It begins with an intriguing premise. Set against the backdrop of Bihar, Chhath Puja and the legend of Van Devi, the film attempts to blend Indian folklore, mythology, family drama and supernatural thriller elements into one story. There is the conflict between development and environmental conservation, the tension between faith and rationality, and the emotional journey of a couple struggling with loss. The film’s biggest strength is the world it attempts to create. The idea of a sacred forest, the Van Devi legend, the Bhutakkas and the tension between belief and rationality provide the foundation for an atmospheric fantasy adventure. The Bihar setting and incorporation of Chhath Puja give the story a distinctive cultural identity, while the forest offers plenty of scope for mystery, folklore and supernatural intrigue. The pairing of Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia also adds an appealing emotional dimension. The writing is strongest when it trusts the emotional and mythic pull of its central premise. A city bred sceptic returning to an ancestral landscape and waking forces older than his understanding is a robust setup, and the screenplay finds dramatic value in that collision. The narrative’s engagement with Bihar rooted folklore, Van Devi mythology and sacred prohibitions give it a lived cultural framework. The nature conservation thread also works because it is embedded in the spiritual relationship between people and land, not attached as an external lesson. The first half is decent and got off with a solid start. It builds an engaging narrative, establishing the village, its beliefs and the conflict between development and preservation. The setup creates enough curiosity around the forest to sustain interest. However, the second half shifts towards a familiar good-versus-evil conflict, with supernatural forces and VFX-driven action increasingly taking over. While this dilutes some of the mystery built earlier, the climactic showdown has enough action and visual spectacle to hold attention. Visually, the film succeeds in presenting its mythology as something unexplored. The VFX is ambitious, particularly in the scenes featuring the mystical tiger and other supernatural manifestations. While some effects blend well with the live-action footage, others lack the polish expected from a film of this scale. Beneath the fantasy, the story also touches upon a relevant generational conflict. The music beautifully complements the film’s spiritual and folkloric setting. From the devotional Chhathi Maiya to the more energetic moments, the album covers different moods. But what makes the music even more special is the small, familiar touch of Sharda Sinha’s OG Chhath folk sound, which instantly connects the film to the cultural soul of Bihar.
Sidharth Malhotra brings physical energy and sincerity to Rishi. His action sequences required a lot of conviction, while he also attempts to bring vulnerability to a man dealing with personal and supernatural turmoil. He handles the character’s initial disbelief, emotional turmoil, action and supernatural journey with confidence, while his screen presence keeps the film anchored. Tamannaah Bhatia brings steadiness and emotional warmth to the film. In a narrative crowded with lore, mystery and spectacle, she helps maintain a human anchor. Her chemistry with Malhotra gives the romantic thread enough feeling to matter, and the pairing feels fresh within the Hindi mainstream landscape. She also fits comfortably inside the film’s rooted cultural environment, which is important for a story so dependent on mood and place. Sunil Grover provides one of the more intriguing energies in the cast. His role introduces a welcome unpredictability, and the performance gains strength from how he resists easy signaling. Maniesh Paul supplies the film’s lighter rhythm. His exchanges with Malhotra bring humor that feels integrated into character interaction rather than inserted as separate comic business. In a story dealing with dread, faith and supernatural danger, that tonal release matters. Paul’s presence helps the first half move with entertainment value and keeps the film connected to mainstream accessibility. Shweta Tiwari and Anup Soni strengthen the supporting framework. Both actors bring weight and credibility to the family and community dimension of the narrative, helping the village world feel inhabited by lived relationships rather than plot functions. The supporting cast overall contributes to the density of the folklore driven universe. Deepak Kumar Mishra brings a distinctly rooted flavor to The Vvaan. Instead of relying only on conventional horror tropes, the film builds its world around Bihar’s folklore, village traditions, Chhath and the beliefs surrounding Van Devi. The mix of mythology, emotion, action and occasional humor works well.
However, the film is not without flaws. It is difficult to believe that movie comes from Deepak Kumar Mishra, the man who gave us Panchayat. The filmmaker who understood the smallest details of village life, its politics, its people and their everyday struggles, has suddenly decided to go all out with a larger-than-life fantasy. The result feels like a dubbed South Indian mass entertainer, complete with an ancient deity, a greedy land mafia, supernatural creatures, a reluctant hero and a thousand-year-old legend. There’s even a sidekick whose sole purpose is to provide comic relief and an older woman made to behave like a chudail for the appeasement of frontbenchers. Considering Mishra’s understanding of village politics and relationships in Panchayat, the lack of authenticity here is particularly surprising. Devanchal could easily have been any fictional village in a dubbed fantasy film. The supernatural sequences and elaborate action attempt to give the film a grand scale, but spectacle cannot compensate for predictable storytelling. The lengthy backstory, convenient revelations and inevitable return of the hero’s faith make the proceedings increasingly mechanical. Unfortunately, the film struggles in the second half. The screenplay moves between folklore, mythology, superhero-style action, family drama, romance, and comedy without establishing a rhythm. The forest, which should provide the film with its strongest sense of atmosphere and dread, does not feel mysterious. Even when the story introduces supernatural elements, the tension does not build effectively enough, making the central mystery less compelling than the premise suggests. Despite being set against a culturally significant backdrop, the film does not always give Devanchal enough local exposure. The humor is another forced element, frequently arriving when the story needs tension and disrupting the mood. By the climax, the film moves towards exaggerated supernatural action, creating a shift that feels disconnected from the folklore-driven world established earlier. Apart from this, the constant need for branding in the first half of the film is absolutely unnecessary. The humour involving Sulbha Arya feels forced, while the villain track is the weakest link in the story. A few developments also defy logic and common sense. For instance, it is baffling that no one in the village knows the identity of Raja Vikramaditya’s descendant. The descendant has kept his identity a secret, but no convincing explanation is provided for the same. Similarly, a character is shown desperately searching for a powerful anklet. One expects an object of such importance to be cleverly concealed. Instead, it is kept at a location where it could have been found with remarkable ease, making the entire search seem contrived. Lastly, the climax is haphazardly executed and fails to deliver the desired impact.
Overall, movie has the ingredients of a more layered fantasy thriller but never brings them together consistently. Its atmosphere, visual ambition and intriguing premise work in its favor, while rushed character development and an increasingly conventional supernatural conflict limit its impact. What could have been a nuanced tale about faith, greed, development and the consequence of disturbing nature instead becomes a moderately engaging supernatural adventure that only partially fulfils the potential of its premise. It deserves credit for attempting something rooted in Indian folklore, but its ambitious ideas are not matched by equally consistent storytelling. It starts with promise but gradually loses its way in a maze of mythology, comedy, action and exposition. Still, it is a delightful blend of folklore, comedy, emotion and Chhathi Maiya, with a genuinely rooted Bihar setting giving it a distinct identity. My view on this film Time Pass.
For more Movies and Cricket updates visit my page on Facebook Durgesh Tiwary’s View and website Cricket Movie Website