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⏱️ 12 Min Read 🛡️ Trade Verified (Oct 1, 2026) 📊 Box Office Hub The Vvaan Review: Did Sidharth Malhotra’s Supernatural Folklore Epic Conquer the Box Office or Lose Its Way in the Forbidden Forest? When a film arrives burdened with the weight of an entire region’s mythology, positions itself as a mass-scale spectacle, and…
The Vvaan Review: Did Sidharth Malhotra’s Supernatural Folklore Epic Conquer the Box Office or Lose Its Way in the Forbidden Forest?
When a film arrives burdened with the weight of an entire region’s mythology, positions itself as a mass-scale spectacle, and stakes its fortune on the box office pull of a star who has been waiting for that elusive solo blockbuster, the stakes could not be higher.
The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest (2026) enters the theatrical arena as precisely such a proposition—a mythological fantasy thriller that attempts to weave the ancient legend of the Van Devi temple into a modern narrative about grief, faith, and environmental conservation.
Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra from a story conceived by TVF’s Arunabh Kumar, this Hindi-language theatrical release opened on September 25, 2026, riding on a wave of heartland curiosity, regional folklore intrigue, and what many trade insiders describe as Sidharth Malhotra’s most ambitious bid yet to crack the mass-market code.
But does the film deliver on its towering promise? The answer, much like the forbidden forest at the heart of its narrative, is layered with shadows.
Critical reception has been sharply divided, the box office trajectory tells a story of front-loaded momentum followed by a steep descent, and audiences in certain circuits have embraced it while multiplex-goers remain notably cooler.
This deep-dive editorial unpacks every facet of The Vvaan—from its VFX-laden visual construction and narrative architecture to its commercial performance and the cultural folklore that birthed it—to determine whether this forest adventure has the legs to survive beyond its opening fortnight.
Editorial Verdict: The Vvaan is a visually ambitious folklore spectacle that captures the raw energy of Bihar’s Van Devi legend and delivers genuine moments of mass-cinema spectacle, but its confused tonal identity, underwhelming antagonist work, and scattered second-half execution prevent it from becoming the landmark supernatural epic it aspires to be. A culturally rich but commercially fragile venture that thrives in heartland territories while stumbling in multiplex corridors.
Main Cast & Crew Overview
Visual Grandeur, VFX Craft, and Direction: Building a Forest of Fear and Faith
At its most ambitious, The Vvaan attempts to construct an entire mythological ecosystem within the dense, forbidding landscape of a fictional Bihar village called Devanchal.
The film’s visual language, spearheaded by cinematographer and visual director Manu Anand, leans heavily into chiaroscuro lighting during the forest sequences—deep greens, shadowed browns, and shafts of ethereal moonlight that bathe the Van Devi shrine in an otherworldly glow.
The production design duo of Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty deserves genuine credit for recreating the earthy authenticity of rural Bihar during the Chhath Puja festival, complete with the ghats, the earthen lamps, and the bustling community energy that grounds the film’s early portions in lived-in reality before the supernatural elements take over.
However, the VFX execution—handled by three separate studios in Labyrinth Studios, Divinity Pictures VFX, and New Kore VFX—presents a more complicated picture.
The creature design and supernatural manifestations within the forest carry a certain B-movie charm but lack the photorealistic polish that contemporary audiences have come to expect from big-budget fantasy spectacles.
Several reviewers, including Cinema Express, noted that the special effects “lack originality,” and there is merit to this criticism.
The dark forces that possess Sunil Grover’s character manifest through transformation sequences that feel derivative of multiple Hollywood and South Indian templates rather than establishing a unique visual identity rooted in Bihari folklore.
That said, the film’s action choreography, supervised by Parvez Shaikh, delivers several genuinely rousing set-pieces, particularly in the climactic confrontation where Sidharth Malhotra’s Rishi finally embraces his destiny as the forest’s protector.
Deepak Kumar Mishra’s direction shows flashes of genuine visual storytelling intelligence—the recurring motif of the sacred anklet as a symbol of lineage and protection, the contrast between the claustrophobic village interiors and the expansive, threatening forest, and the use of silence and ambient sound to build dread in the early supernatural encounters.
Yet the director struggles with tonal consistency. The film lurches between intense, emotionally charged sequences and forced comedic beats featuring Maniesh Paul, creating a jarring viewing experience that prevents the audience from settling into any sustained emotional rhythm.
The second half, in particular, suffers from what Pinkvilla accurately described as getting “lost in execution,” as the narrative tries to balance multiple threads—the environmental conservation message, the faith versus rationality debate, the marital strain between Rishi and Mamta, and the full-scale supernatural war—without successfully integrating them into a cohesive whole.
Director’s Track Record Comparison
Box Office and Commercial Trade Breakdown
The Vvaan’s commercial journey is a study in front-loaded momentum. The film opened on September 25, 2026, to a Day 1 net collection of Rs 8 crore in India—a solid if unspectacular figure that positioned it as a mid-tier opener with heartland appeal.
The opening weekend delivered Rs 33.60 crore nett in India, translating to Rs 40.15 crore gross and Rs 43.65 crore worldwide gross.
This performance was buoyed by strong walk-in interest, particularly in mass-market circuits across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand, where the Chhath Puja setting and rural folklore resonated deeply with local audiences.
Sunday occupancy reportedly touched 49.98%, suggesting genuine word-of-mouth traction in these territories.
However, Monday brought a harsh reality check. The film collected Rs 5.25 crore, representing a 63.4% drop from Friday—a significant fall that exposed the film’s limited appeal in multiplex corridors and metro centers.
By Day 6, the collections had settled to Rs 4.35 crore India net across 7,070 shows, with Rs 50 lakh coming from overseas markets, taking the worldwide total to Rs 58.64 crore.
The film’s reported production budget of Rs 80 crore means that theatrical breakeven remains a distant prospect, with ancillary revenue streams—OTT rights, satellite deals, and music licensing—becoming increasingly critical to the film’s overall financial viability.
Interestingly, The Indian Express noted that The Vvaan’s worldwide gross matched that of Param Sundari, suggesting that despite the disparate genres and target audiences, both films found themselves in a similar commercial bracket—a sobering reality for a film that carried significantly higher production ambitions.
The Folklore That Birthed the Film: Van Devi Temple and Bihari Cultural Roots
The Vvaan’s most significant asset is its grounding in authentic regional folklore. The film draws directly from the real-life Van Devi Temple near Bihta in Bihar, a site shrouded in local legend and genuine superstition.
Writer Arunabh Kumar developed the story after visiting the temple and engaging in extensive conversations with locals, priests, and villagers about the traditions forbidding forest entry after sunset.
This ethnographic approach lends the film’s early portions a documentary-like authenticity that is genuinely compelling—the rituals, the community dynamics during Chhath Puja, and the deep-seated belief systems of rural Bihar are captured with a respect and specificity that elevates the material beyond standard Bollywood supernatural fare.
The central thematic conflict—between Rishi’s atheism and rationalism versus the village’s unwavering faith in the Van Devi’s protective power—is fertile ground for meaningful storytelling.
The film smartly positions this as not merely a supernatural battle but as an ideological one, where Rishi’s journey becomes an allegory for the reconciliation of modernity with tradition.
His personal tragedy—the loss of an unborn child six years prior—adds emotional stakes to his skepticism, making his eventual acceptance of the forest’s supernatural reality feel earned rather than merely convenient for plot purposes.
That the film also weaves in an environmental conservation message through the antagonist’s plan to build a road through the protected forest demonstrates ambition, even if the execution of these layered themes leaves much to be desired.
Critical Reception and Audience Word-of-Mouth Analysis
The critical consensus on The Vvaan is decidedly mixed, with reviews falling into three broad categories.
The more charitable assessments, such as those from Zee News and Filmfare (which awarded 2/5), acknowledged the film’s interesting premises—the conservation-versus-development conflict, the faith-versus-rationality tension, and the couple’s emotional journey—while noting that the screenplay fails to synthesize these threads into a satisfying whole.
Pinkvilla’s review perhaps best captured the film’s central problem: “solid story but gets lost in execution in the second half.”
More scathing was Cinema Express, which delivered a devastating 1/5 rating, calling The Vvaan “the most tedious film of the year” and criticizing its wayward narrative, lack of rhythm, abrupt tonal shifts, blatant product placements, and derivative special effects.
The reviewer explicitly noted the film’s conscious aspirations toward a Kantara-like experience without the requisite mood maintenance—a criticism that cuts to the heart of the film’s failure to sustain its atmospheric dread and cultural authenticity through its runtime.
Performances received mixed notices across the board. Sidharth Malhotra is convincing in the action sequences and brings physical commitment to the role, but struggles with the deeper emotional registers required for a character grappling with grief and existential crisis.
Tamannaah Bhatia brings sincerity to Mamta, but her character slips in and out of the narrative as per convenience rather than driving the story forward with agency.
Sunil Grover, cast against type as the antagonist Deepak, “never quite develops the menace the role demands”—a significant shortcoming given that the film’s conflict hinges on his descent into darkness.
Maniesh Paul, as Rishi’s friend Ved Prakash, provides the closest thing to genuine comic relief, though his presence also contributes to the film’s problematic tonal inconsistencies.
Audience word-of-mouth has been markedly more favorable in mass-market circuits, particularly in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where the folk-horror setting and Chhath Puja sequence have struck a chord.
The Sunday occupancy of 49.98% suggests growing audience interest in heartland territories, even as multiplex audiences in metros remain indifferent.
This bifurcated response underscores a fundamental truth about The Vvaan: it is a film made for a specific audience that understands and resonates with its cultural touchstones, but it struggles to transcend that regional boundary to achieve the pan-Indian appeal its budget and scale demand.
Helpful Search Intent Questions
Is The Vvaan based on a true story or real folklore?▼
The Vvaan is inspired by the real-life Van Devi Temple near Bihta in Bihar. Writer Arunabh Kumar visited the temple and spoke with locals about the legend forbidding forest entry after sunset.
While the characters and specific events are fictionalized, the core mythological framework draws directly from genuine local folklore and superstitions.
What is The Vvaan’s box office collection so far?▼
As of Day 6, The Vvaan has collected approximately Rs 58.64 crore worldwide gross, with Rs 50 lakh from overseas markets.
The film opened with Rs 8 crore on Day 1 and had an opening weekend of Rs 33.60 crore nett in India.
Monday saw a 63.4% drop from Friday, collecting Rs 5.25 crore.
Why did The Vvaan receive mixed reviews from critics?▼
Critics praised the film’s premise—the conflict between development and conservation, faith versus rationality, and the couple’s emotional journey—but noted that the screenplay fails to bring these threads together.
Issues cited include wayward narrative, abrupt tonal shifts, forced comedy, derivative VFX, and inconsistent pacing in the second half.
What is the runtime and censor rating of The Vvaan?▼
The Vvaan has a runtime of 2 hours and 17 minutes. The censor rating has not been officially confirmed.
Who plays the antagonist in The Vvaan?▼
Sunil Grover plays Deepak, the primary antagonist in The Vvaan. However, critics noted that his character “never quite develops the menace the role demands,” suggesting the antagonist arc is one of the film’s weaker elements.
Where was The Vvaan filmed and what is its setting?▼
The Vvaan is set in the fictional village of Devanchal in Bihar, centered on a forbidden sacred forest and the Van Devi temple legend.
The film draws from the real Van Devi Temple near Bihta in Bihar, though specific filming locations have not been officially detailed.
Will The Vvaan be available on OTT and when?▼
The official streaming partner and OTT release date for The Vvaan have not been confirmed. The film is currently in its theatrical run, and digital rights details are expected to be announced once the theatrical window concludes.
Sources & Trade Citations
- The Indian Express: “Vvaan Box Office: Sidharth Malhotra film earns as much as Param Sundari, mints Rs 58.64 cr” – https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/vvaan-box-office-collection-day-6-sidharth-malhotra-film-earns-rs-58-crore-worldwide-same-as-param-sundari-10901636/
- Pinkvilla: “The Vvaan Movie Review: Sidharth Malhotra’s forest adventure has solid story but gets lost in execution in the second half” – https://www.pinkvilla.com/entertainment/reviews/the-vvaan-movie-review-sidharth-malhotras-forest-adventure-has-solid-story-but-gets-lost-in-execution-in-the-second-half-1405590
- Times of India: “Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia’s ‘The Vvaan’ draws from mysterious Van Devi Temple folklore, makers reveal” – https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/sidharth-malhotra-and-tamannaah-bhatias-the-vvaan-draws-from-mysterious-van-devi-temple-folklore-makers-reveal/articleshow/133627523.cms
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