‘The Vvaan – Force of the Forest’ – Review, Wanders Aimlessly in a Muddle of Myth and Modernity

Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra and produced jointly by TVF Motion Pictures and Balaji Telefilms, The Vvaan – Force of the Forest attempts an ambitious leap to the big screen for the creators behind acclaimed streaming hits like Panchayat and Gullak. Starring Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia, the film sets out to explore the friction between ancient folklore and modern rationalism, but ultimately stumbles through a disjointed and bewildering narrative.

The Plot and Premise

The story revolves around a mystical forest dating back to the 7th century, where a stone-carved goddess with glowing eyes is rumored to speak. Fear of this supernatural presence keeps villagers away from the woods after dark, an ancient dread established by an opening sequence involving a desperate monarch seeking a cure for his ailing, pregnant queen.

Centuries later, Rishi Kumar (Sidharth Malhotra), a pragmatic, atheist civil engineer working in Mumbai, returns to his native village of Devanchal in Bihar after six years to celebrate Chhath. Accompanying him are his wife Mamta (Tamannaah Bhatia)—with whom he is desperately trying to fund IVF treatments—and his vlogger companion, Ved Prakash (Maniesh Paul).

Upon arrival, Rishi finds himself trapped amid family grievances and civic turmoil:

• The Environmental Conflict: Rishi’s former associate, Deepak (Sunil Grover), is determined to clear the protected woodland for a government highway project, aided by timber smugglers.
• Domestic Discord: Unresolved grief from a past family accident fuels resentment from Rishi’s sister-in-law, Sushila (Shweta Tiwari).
• Misfired Comic Relief: Ved Prakash suspects the family’s elderly matriarch (Sulabha Arya) of practicing witchcraft, giving rise to an awkward, slapstick subplot that clashes sharply with the darker, dramatic beats.

Clashing Tones and Unfocused Storytelling

Written by Anandeshwar Dwivedi and Arunabh Kumar, the script struggles to strike a coherent balance. It attempts to critique superstition while simultaneously endorsing miraculous interventions, exemplified by heavy-handed symbolism—such as a rampaging bulldozer accidentally piercing a pipe to perform an impromptu ritual wash over a Shivling.

Rather than anchoring its conservation themes in tangible ecological stakes, the film leans heavily into convoluted mysticism. The tonal instability leaves the narrative swinging unpredictably between broad farce and grim mythic showdowns. By the time a fractured crowd gathers in the dark forest for a chaotic, anticlimactic final clash, the plot’s credibility has eroded past the point of recovery.

Performances

The cast gives earnest efforts, but their contributions are severely limited by thinly drawn characters:

• Sidharth Malhotra plays the bewildered skeptic convincingly, though the character’s internal transformation feels unearned.
• Tamannaah Bhatia is constrained by a conventional, supportive role that offers minimal narrative agency.
• Maniesh Paul is saddled with repetitive, coarse visual gags that derail the tension rather than provide comic relief.
• Sunil Grover, Shweta Tiwari, and Anup Soni perform competently within the narrow confines of their dramatic subplots.

The Vvaan – Force of the Forest holds the seeds of an intriguing allegorical thriller, but erratic pacing, conflicting thematic messaging, and disjointed world-building leave the production hopelessly stranded in its own woods.