The Vvaan Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia, Sunil Grover, Maniesh Paul, Shweta Tiwari, Anup Soni
Director: Deepak Kumar Mishra
The Vvaan Movie Review Synopsis:
THE VVAAN is the story of a man whose actions unleash chaos in his village. Rishi (Sidharth Malhotra) lives in Mumbai with his wife, Mamta (Tamannaah Bhatia). He hasn’t visited his hometown, Devanchal, for years, though his brother (Anup Soni) invites him every year to celebrate Chhath Puja. This year, Rishi makes an exception and heads to Devanchal. He also has another reason to visit – his brother has sent him a summons regarding land acquisition. There is a proposal to build a road through a forest near the village. The villagers are strongly opposed to the plan and don’t even enter the forest after sunset. They believe that doing so could anger the ‘Van Devi’ who resides there. Rishi dismisses these beliefs as superstition and supports Deepak (Sunil Grover), who is helping develop the road through the forest. This causes a rift between Rishi and his sister-in-law, Sushila (Shweta Tiwari). Sushila wants Rishi to give up his share in the ancestral land as, according to her, he has done little for the family or the village. Meanwhile, Rishi is determined to prove that the villagers’ fear of entering the forest at night is nothing but blind belief. One evening, he ventures into the forest after sunset – and all hell breaks loose. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
The Vvaan Movie Story Review:
Arunabh Kumar’s story has a lot of promise, as it blends devotion with a dash of mythology and horror. However, Arunabh Kumar’s screenplay gets messy, especially in the second half. Anandeshwar Dwivedi’s dialogues are funny and, more importantly, have a desi flavour.
Deepak Kumar Mishra’s direction is not up to the mark. To give credit where it’s due, he succeeds in building an eerie atmosphere. The humour works well, especially in the scenes featuring VP (Maniesh Paul). In fact, the comedy has the classic TVF flavour. Certain dialogues refer to popular series tropes as well as fictional and real-life characters, and these references are sure to be lapped up. Some aspects of the mythology are intriguing too, such as characters venturing into the forest blindfolded after sunset and demons wreaking havoc in the jungle.
On the flipside, 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. It also evokes a strong sense of déjà vu, particularly of BAAHUBALI.
The Vvaan Movie Review Performances:
Sidharth Malhotra is decent, though his performance could have been better. He is, however, convincing in the action scenes. Tamannaah Bhatia has a significant role in the film; performance-wise, she is dependable and looks quite stunning. Her act in the song ‘Chhathi Maiya’, in particular, is memorable. Maniesh Paul, as expected, raises laughs, though a few of his scenes fail to land. Sulbha Arya is funny but goes quite overboard at times. Anup Soni and Shweta Tiwari lend able support. Sunil Grover delivers a sincere performance but is let down by the writing. The same applies to Durgesh Kumar (Reporter). Milind Gunaji (priest) and Avtar Gill (Sarpanch) are wasted and are forgotten after a point. Sundip Ved (King Vikramaditya) registers his presence.
The Vvaan movie music and other technical aspects:
‘Chhathi Maiya’ is beautiful and stands out for its picturization and melody. ‘Samjho Na’ is soulful while ‘Thummak Thummak’ is forced into the narrative. ‘Hum Hain‘ adds to the fear. Sandeep Shirodkar’s background score is satisfactory.
Manu Anand’s cinematography is superb, with the locales captured exceptionally well. Even the night sequences in the forest are clear and easy to decipher. Parvez Shaikh’s action is realistic yet entertaining. Niharika Bhasin’s costumes are stylish, especially those worn by Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia. Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty’s production design is in sync with the film’s requirements. The VFX by Labyrinth Studios, Divinity Pictures VFX and New Kore VFX Pvt Ltd could have been classier, while the animation, which appears to have been derived from AI, is not up to the mark. Nitin Baid’s editing is functional.
The Vvaan Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, THE VVAAN rests on an interesting premise that blends devotion, mythology, horror and humour. However, a messy screenplay, weak villain track, several illogical developments and a haphazard climax severely dent the film’s impact.