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Let me hazard a guess at how the first meeting for The Vvaan went: “Indian culture, a Goddess, Chhath Puja. Mytho-horror-comedy is having a moment, why not throw all three into one film?”
And just like that, a pitch was born.
The result brings together actors Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia with the unlikely creative union of Ektaa Kapoor, whose supernatural Naagin franchise has spawned seven seasons, and TVF, the team behind grounded shows like Panchayat, Gullak. It is the kind of collab that makes you wonder whether the two sides actually found a strange sweet spot or simply put three different ideas in a blender.
Does this experiment work? Let’s find out.
The story revolves around Rishi (Sidharth), who lives in Mumbai with his wife, Mamta (Tamannaah). The couple has been trying to conceive for a long time, but inexplicably are unable to. Meanwhile, Rishi’s elder brother and sister-in-law (Anuup Soni and Shweta Tiwari) have been urging the couple to return to their hometown for Chhath, something Rishi has been avoiding.
Eventually, financial pressure forces Rishi to return home to close a land deal, accompanied by Mamta and their friend, Ved (Maniesh Paul). Rishi plans to sell his share of the land for a substantial sum to make way for a road cutting through a sacred forest. But the proposed project doesn’t sit well with several villagers, who oppose disturbing the holy land. Rishi, however, remains determined, setting in motion a supernatural chain of events.
The makers crack an intriguing storyline, and for a while, The Vvaan, directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, makes good use of it. The first half builds curiosity, carefully peeling back the layers of Rishi’s past while introducing the supernatural elements. There is also a natural flow to the transition from Mumbai to the more rooted world of the village.
The fact that the story draws inspiration from real life further lends a sense of relatability. For much of the first half, The Vvaan knows how to keep you invested, leaving enough unanswered questions to make you curious about the forbidden forest where no one can venture at night.
But the second half nosedives. Editor Nitin Baid’s choppy editing does little to hold the film together. For instance, Maniesh Paul’s character is clearly meant to provide comic relief, but his running gag of mistaking an old woman for a witch is stretched far beyond its shelf life. Worse, it keeps resurfacing even as the story tries to build tension. The sequences themselves aren't particularly funny either. It is largely Paul’s comic timing that lends them some decency. He gets some of the film's funniest one-liners, so Anandeshwar Dwivedi's dialogue also works.
The climax of The Vvaan is loud without being engaging. By this point, the film loses its grip on the story, delving into backstories and introducing explanations that raise more questions than they answer. Also, the inclusion of too many songs merely acts as a loo break more than helping the film's plot in any way. The film's VFX are average.
Among the performances, Sidharth Malhotra is watchable, though the role feels familiar. He is essentially playing another version of the city-bred man he has portrayed in films such as Thank God, so little here feels new. Tamannaah, on the other hand, lends the film its emotional core and channels her character’s longing to become a mother. Anuup Soni and Shweta Tiwari are well cast and bring credibility to their parts. Pitting Sunil Grover as the antagonist is a smart casting choice.
The music by Vishal Mishra, Amit Trivedi, Tanishk Bagchi and Sam C.S. is nothing remarkable.
Overall, there was genuine potential in making a fantasy horror around a Goddess and the Chhath Puja. It could have given The Vvaan an identity of its own, rooted in a mythology that feels distinctly Indian. Instead, the film gets distracted by everything around its central idea. By the end, the Goddess, the folklore, and everything seem to be fighting for space with the comedy and songs. For a film that had such an interesting divine premise, The Vvaan eventually does surprisingly little with it.
E-Paper
