Balaji Motion Pictures, TVF Motion Pictures and 11:11 Productions’ The Vvaan (UA) is the story of faith in a religious belief.
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. Rishi (Sidharth Malhotra) and his wife, Mamta (Tamannaah Bhatia), come visiting the family of Rishi’s brother, Shashi (Anup Soni), in Patna. Shashi lives with wife Sushila (Shweta Tiwari) and their two kids. 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 Sushila are not in favour of the road being constructed from inside the forest. Even otherwise, Sushila is permanently angry with Rishi, and this issue of road construction only worsens the tension between Rishi and Sushila. Frankly, Rishi has had a terrible experience in the forest and, therefore, doesn’t believe in the stories about the ferocious tiger attacking commoners who dare to enter the forest after sunset. That is why he wants the authorities to construct the road which would pass through the forest. In any case, the forest thoroughfare would fetch the land owners more money.
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?
Arunabh Kumar’s story is confusing. The way in which the story has been written, it is not clear to the viewers for a long time why Sushila is cross with Rishi. Their bickerings don’t make much sense, and even as the reasons are revealed one by one, the audience don’t really get too convinced. Also, since the viewers’ conviction level is low, the unfolding drama never really involves them completely. The screenplay, written by Anandeshwar Dwivedi and Arunabh Kumar, is scattered and not too cohesive. The revelation about the tiger’s appearance hardly impresses. How a commoner like Shashi’s son, Phinish (Zeeshan Nadaf), is saved in spite of entering the forest after sunset is not convincingly explained and looks too convenient. There’s a scene in which Rishi hands over evidence to Deepak about the absence of the tiger in the forest. Since this proof supports Deepak’s stand of letting the road pas through the forest, the audience wonder why Deepak destroys the evidence. Deepak’s motives are revealed in such a childish manner that it’s not funny. Also, the basis for Sushila’s anger with Rishi is not at all convincing. In fact, the viewers wonder whether Sushila should be angry with Rishi or vice versa. By the time the entire suspense about the forest gets revealed, the viewers have lost interest because the revelation is so convoluted and often contrived. For instance, the truth about the tiger, when revealed, makes the viewers wonder why the forest Goddess had ‘lied’ about the tiger or why, alternatively, the viewers could not have been told the fact of the matter (about the ghosts) in the first place itself.
The comedy is meek and doesn’t evince laughter at many places. Emotions fail to touch the heart. Several characters are half-baked. Dialogues, penned by Anandeshwar Dwivedi and Arunabh Kumar, are routine.
Sidharth Malhotra does a fair job as Rishi. He looks very handsome and stands out in the dramatic scenes with Sushila. But the script does not offer him extraordinary scenes to perform. Also, the changing graph of his character is not well-handled. Tamannaah Bhatia gets limited scope and is alright as Mamta. Sunil Grover does not quite impress as Deepak because of an ill-defied characterisation. Also, he is doesn’t look as ferocious and wily as the character needed to look. Manish Paul’s comedy is ordinary. Although he acts ably, his scenes are not exciting. Anup Soni lends average support as Shashi. His talent appears to have been under-utilised. Shweta Tiwari makes her presence felt as Sushila. Sulbha Arya is so-so as Kaaki. Avatar Gill (as the sarpanch), Milind Gunaji (as the pandit), Zeeshan Nadaf (as Phinish), Durgesh Kumar (as the journalist), Trisha Sarda (as Preeti), Sundip Ved (as the king), Shridhar Watsar (as Raja bhaiya), Jay Upadhyay (as Dr. Tandon), Sant Rajan (as Prince), Sanjeev Wadhwa (as the 7th century pandit), Teetu Verma (as Tilchatta), Bachan Pachera (as Deena) and the rest provide routine support.
Deepak Kumar Mishra’s direction is below the mark. He is unable to narrate the subject in a manner that would hold the audience’s attention for long. Music (Vishal Mishra, Tanishk Bagchi, Amit Trivedi, Sam C.S., Yash Narvekar and Raahi) is good. The Samjho na and Thhumak thhumak songs are hit. Lyrics (Manoj Muntashir, Kaushal Kishore, The Shloka, Kumaar, Shabbir Ahmed and Aniket Shukla) are appropriate. Song picturisations (by Chinni Prakash, Bosco Leslie Martis and Ranju Varghese) are quite good but should’ve been better. Background music (Sandeep Shirodkar) is appealing. Manu Anand’s cinematography is of a good standard. Parvez Shaikh’s action and stunt scenes are alright. Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty’s production designing is nice. Nitin Baid’s editing needed to be sharper.
On the whole, The Vvaan is a weak fare with some chances in Bihar circuit because of the references to Chhathhi Maa and a song on the Goddess.
Released on 25-9-’26 at ….