The Vvaan Review: A Messy Supernatural Thriller

Our hero is a rational urban man, the kind who probably uses a spreadsheet to decide what to have for dinner. He returns to his ancestral village and, because he clearly skipped the “Do Not Enter” seminar, defies his family’s ancient warning and wanders into a forbidden forest. His reward? He awakens a divine goddess. And not the benevolent, bless-you-with-a-bumper-crop kind. This is a deity with a serious grudge and the power to bring about annihilation.

Suddenly, our man of logic is the village’s only hope. He must shed his city-slicker skepticism and rise as a saviour to protect his people from total destruction. It’s a classic “man versus the divine” setup, but the film positions it as a race against time. The premise is pure pulp fiction - a mix of The Mummy and a theological debate - and it’s the film’s strongest hook.

Let’s start with the good. Director Deepak Kumar Mishra has an eye for spectacle. The forbidden forest is genuinely eerie, the visual effects for the goddess are ambitious, and the action sequences have a kinetic energy that keeps you watching. Sidharth Malhotra is perfectly cast as the smug rationalist who gets his worldview smashed to pieces. He handles the transition from “there’s a scientific explanation for this” to “run for your lives” with a straight face, which is more than the script sometimes deserves.

Then there’s the supporting cast, which is where things get weird - in a good way. Maniesh Paul as VP and Sunil Grover as Deepak are clearly having a blast, providing the comic relief that feels ripped from a completely different movie. Nimrat Kaur brings a gravity that the film desperately needs, and Shweta Tiwari is reliably solid. The real wild card? Yo Yo Honey Singh as Hardy Thakur. It’s a casting choice so bizarre it almost works, like putting a pop star in a horror film and telling him to just be himself. Tamannaah Bhatia is underutilized but makes an impact whenever she’s on screen.

The problem is the tonal whiplash. One minute, we’re in a tense, atmospheric thriller about divine retribution. The next, Maniesh Paul is cracking a joke that deflates all the tension. It’s like the film is afraid to commit to its own premise. Is it a serious exploration of faith versus logic? A campy creature feature? A comedy? The answer is “yes,” and that’s the issue. The screenplay gets bogged down in exposition, explaining the mythology in clunky monologues that kill the pace. And for an action-adventure, there are long stretches where nothing much happens except people looking worriedly at the sky.

The TMDb rating of 0/10 is clearly a placeholder, as the film just released today, but it tells you that audiences haven’t had a chance to weigh in. My guess? It’ll be divisive. Fans of Sidharth Malhotra will show up, and the supernatural genre is hot right now. But the film’s identity crisis might keep it from being the next big Bollywood blockbuster.

Pros:

• Sidharth Malhotra’s committed performance as the reluctant saviour.
• Visually striking, with a genuinely creepy forbidden forest and bold VFX.
• A fun, if chaotic, supporting cast - especially Yo Yo Honey Singh’s baffling but memorable turn.
• The core concept of a rational man versus an angry goddess is a solid hook.

Cons:

• Jarring tonal shifts that undermine the tension.
• Clunky exposition dumps that slow the story to a crawl.
• Underdeveloped characters, especially the female leads.
• The comedy often feels out of place in a film about annihilation.

The Vvaan is the cinematic equivalent of a thali - a little bit of everything, but not all of it tastes great together. It’s ambitious, visually striking, and anchored by a game cast, but it never quite figures out what kind of movie it wants to be. If you’re in the mood for a supernatural action flick that doesn’t take itself too seriously (even when it probably should), it’s worth a stream. Just leave your logic at the door. You’re going to need to.