'The Vvaan' review: Forgettable film buried under too many ideas
What's the story
Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia starrer The Vvaan, released on Friday, is directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra. Written by Arunabh Kumar, it marks The Viral Fever's (TVF) first theatrical outing after landmark shows such as Gullak and Panchayat. However, the team fails to replicate its streaming success, delivering an exhausting, confused film that remains terribly unsure about its direction. Here's our review.
Plot
An atheist is pulled into a religious mystery
Malhotra and Bhatia play Rishi and Mamta, a married couple, who travel to Rishi's hometown, Devanchal, for Chhath festivities.
Rishi, an atheist, is soon drawn into the mysteries of the local forest where inexplicable dangers lurk after sunset.
Rishi believes it's superstition, but the villagers insist that Van Devi, the guardian of the forest, cannot be defied.
Who is right?
#1
A hodgepodge of ideas
Since TVF is known for its rooted storytelling and slice-of-life characters, The Vvaan should have instantly felt authentic and relatable.
Alas, Mishra, perhaps under box-office pressure, lends it a Bollywood-style treatment, which becomes its biggest undoing.
The dialogues sound artificial and hollow, the delivery is surprisingly off-note, and the characters speak less to each other and more to us.
A messy experience.
#2
The comedy is painful to endure
Maniesh Paul, who plays Rishi's friend VP, seems to carry over his character from Hai Jawani Toh Ishq Hona Hai.
VP is an unnecessary character, and even Paul's comic expertise cannot save the unfunny sequences he's trapped in.
Speaking of comedy, the movie's idea of a joke is to liken a woman to a buffalo and call a child ugly.
It's embarrassing to watch.
#3
Editing is patchy and undercooked
It's delightful to see TV veterans Shweta Tiwari and Anup Soni on the big screen, but they, too, suffer from cliché dialogues and presentation.
The only actor who has some fun is Sunil Grover, who plays the antagonist, Deepak.
Scenes have disparate tones and zero coherence, comic sequences awkwardly follow serious ones, and the film wastes over two hours to reach a predictable end.
#4
Forces its ideas on you until you agree!
The movie initially touches on the environmental cost of rapid urban development but drops this theme within minutes.
Recurring religious and folklore ideas take center-stage, and in the first half, it's almost as if the film wants to penalize you if you aren't a devout follower.
Additionally, the world of The Vvaan doesn't feel lived-in, so the artificiality takes you out.
#5
A confusing, overlong 'product'
Some suspenseful portions exploring the forest's history draw you in, but the storytelling is so disjointed that it's a big ask to stay invested.
Toward the end, it completely gives up and becomes so tiring that you might even want the villain to win.
Comedy, romance, religion, and action: The Vvaan wants to offer something for everyone—ultimately forgetting what it wanted to say.
Verdict
'Vvaan' is instantly forgettable; 2/5 stars
Watching the utter mess on-screen, it's difficult to believe that the makers have such a solid body of work behind them.
Meta references are shoved down our throats, jokes are over-explained, and the film constantly insults the viewers' intelligence.
The Vvaan always remains on shaky ground and fails to take off.
2/5 stars.