The Vvaan (Hindi) teaser sets up a forbidden forest, sunset rules and folklore woven into a supernatural mystery. Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia star in this film, whose story is built on ancient beliefs, supernatural elements and unexplained events. The scale is deliberate. The film, touted to be a mythological folklore thriller, attempts fantasy folklore on a scale not often seen in Bollywood's commercial space. Music adds devotional texture.
The comparison to Kantara, Karthikeya 2 and HanuMan feels natural. All three built worlds from regional myth and found pan-India success. The Vvaan wants that same formula.
But intent isn't outcome. The Vvaan's world feels derivative, and the situations feel manufactured. Southern cinema's devotional thrillers work because they draw from specific local belief systems (Kantara and Kantara 2, particularly. To be frank, Karthikeya 2 and HanuMan were generic).
The Vvaan will head to theatres on September 25. Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, it has its task cut out. If it doesn't live up to its promise, Bollywood will be trolled badly.
