The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language fantasy thriller film directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, starring Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia, Anup Soni, Sunil Grover, Shweta Tiwari and Maniesh Paul and produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ekta Kapoor, Arunabh Kumar and Niraj Kothari, with Balaji Motion Pictures, TVF Motion Pictures and 11:11 Productions. The film is inspired by the real Van Devi Temple, Bihta near Patna and its folklore.

The film was theatrically released on 25 September 2026. The film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.

Premise

Plot summary as on CBFC website:

"A rational urban man defies his ancestral villages forbidden forest and awakens a divine goddess, forcing him to confront powers beyond logic as he becomes the unlikely saviour protecting his people from annihilation.

Cast

Sidharth Malhotra as Rishi Kumar / Veer Tamannaah Bhatia as Mamta Kumar Anup Soni as Shashi Kumar Shweta Tiwari as Shushila Kumar Sunil Grover as Deepak Maniesh Paul as Ved Prakash aka VP Milind Gunaji as Priest Avtar Gill as Sarpanch Durgesh Kumar as Patrkaar Sundip Ved as King Vikramaditya Akshaan Sehrawat as Ricky Ajay Raju as Bus Conductor Aniket Sanghavi as Brash Man 1

Production

Development

The film was announced in November 2024 under the title Vvan: Force of the Forrest. Deepak Kumar Mishra, known for directing the television series Panchayat, was initially announced as the director. Manu Anand served as director of photography, while Nitin Baid was the editor. Production design was handled by Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty.

The project was developed as part of a collaboration between Balaji Motion Pictures and The Viral Fever (TVF). The two companies had announced a creative partnership in 2023.

Filming

The film was described as being set in the forests and heartlands of Central India. The production used forest locations as part of the film's visual setting. In June 2026, DT Next reported that the production was planning an additional ten-day shooting schedule intended to strengthen the film's climax. In August 2026, Moneycontrol, citing a report by Filmfare, reported that the film had undergone reshoots and re-editing and that changes had reportedly been made to the creative team. The report also stated that a further 17-day reshoot had been planned.

Soundtrack

The music of the film was composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Vishal Mishra, Amit Trivedi, Sam C. S., Yash Narvekar and Raahi with lyrics written by Manoj Muntashir, Kumaar, Kaushal Kishore, Shabbir Ahmed, Tanishk Bagchi, Aniket Shukla and The Shloka.

Release

The film was originally announced in November 2024 for release around Chhath in 2025. In May 2025, the producers announced 15 May 2026 as the new theatrical release date. The release was subsequently moved to 28 August 2026. In July 2026, the makers announced a further postponement, setting the release date for 25 September 2026. The change was reported as an attempt to avoid a crowded release period that included Toxic and Eetha.

Reception Box office The Vvaan grossed worldwide. It grossed in India and in overseas market.

On its opening day, the film earned ₹7 crore net at the domestic box office.

Critical response

Chirag Sehgal of News18 gave the film 3 stars out of 5, concluding, "The Vvaan has an interesting idea at its core and deserves credit for attempting to bring Indian folklore and fantasy together. It is entertaining in parts, with smart dialogues, some genuinely funny moments and committed performances from its cast. However, an inconsistent screenplay, forced humour and unnecessary songs prevent it from becoming a consistently engaging experience."

Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times gave the film 2.5 stars out of 5. In his review, he had appreciation for Tamannaah Bhatia, who, in his words, "[...] lends the film its emotional core and channels her character's longing to become a mother," Maniesh Paul's comic timing, dialogues written by Anandeshwar Dwivedi and supporting cast of Anup Soni, Shweta Tiwari and Suni Grover, calling latter's casting as an antagonist, "[...] a smart casting choice." He, however, was critical of the second half, noting, "Editor Nitin Baid’s choppy editing does little to hold the film together." He also had criticism for stretching a running gag, "[...] far beyond its shelf life," and, "[...] inclusion of too many songs," in the film. He found Sidharth Malhotra as 'watchable', film's VFX as 'average,' and music in the film as 'nothing remarkable.'

A critic at Bollywood Hungama gave the film 2 stars out of 5 and concluded, "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."

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave 2/5 stars and wrote "The Vvaan - Force of the Forest is a film lost in the woods. It never makes its way out."

Jaya Dwivedie of India TV gave 2/5 stars and wrote "A scattered screenplay, inconsistent tone, limited character development, weak comedy and a climax that fails to leave the desired impact overshadow the film's better elements."

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film a 0.5 star out of 5. She opened her review with, "Some films are bad. Some are terrible. And some are pure torture. The Vvaan falls neatly into that third category, in which I struggled to find a single redeeming feature, and failed spectacularly."

Controversy

Music artist Sargam Vaish posted a reel on Instagram to claim that the movie had used his song "Ae Giri Nandini" in their official trailer without his permission. He reached out to the cast and crew in the same reel asking them to remove the song.

Notes

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