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All the content is aimed at the smaller centers. When there is a basic bent only towards devotion, mythology and folklore blended with elements of horror, we are reminded of recent films as varied as Brahmastra, Shaitaan, Kantara and Maa as well. The approach here is, however, aimed at the elements of superstition versus rational thinking, and science versus blind faith, but in the final analysis, we are led to a conclusion that the two can co-exist.
All this is done through a convoluted, often erratically-paced saga of divine miracles, greed, cynicism, evil people (both in contemporary times and before) and villagers steeped in conventional thinking. Rishi (Sidharth Malhotra) and his wife Mamta (Tamannaah Bhatia) stay in Mumbai and reach their hometown Devanchal at the behest of Rishi’s elder brother Shashi (Anuup Soni) both to celebrate Chhath Puja and also sign some property papers.
An ongoing dispute in the village is about a new road being planned. There are two choices: going through the local forest to cut journey time. The other will be a longer, roundabout way. This is because the forest, or rather the Goddess (Vandevi) whose temple exists in its center is sacred and a powerful protector of the village folks. The village does not want the forest to be cut.
However, Rishi, who has been a kind of non-believer since a past incident involving the deity, is all for cutting through the forest, which will yield a better price. Also, his friend, Deepak (Sunil Grover) had lost his father because of the time it took to reach the city when the latter needed medical attention.
Preparations are on in a big way for the annual Chhath Puja and Mamta not only remains a believer but also feels that her brother-in-law and his wife Sushila (Shweta Tiwari) need support in their stand that is the reverse of Rishi’s: they want to save the jungle and not offend or displace Vandevi.
Alongside comes a reporter (Durgesh Kumar), who is cynical about the prevailing belief that no one should enter the forest after dark. We also have Rishi rescuing a local man’s bull that runs into the woods one night. We are soon told a story about what happened to Mamta when she was pregnant many years back and had gone to seek the goddess’ blessings. Finally, we have Shashi’s son Phinish (Zeeshan Nadaf), venturing into the forest with Rishi’s friend VP (Maniesh Paul) one night with dire consequences.
And then we know that a criminal gang is active in the woods that has killed the reporter. There are malefic spirits for real, and Vandevi has kept them in abeyance during the daytime. A saga from an earlier century talks about a king, Vikramaditya (Sundip Ved) who has taken help from the Goddess to cure his ailing pregnant wife. Finally, there is an anklet gifted by Her to Vikramaditya trat will protect him even if he comes to the forest after dark.
In a multi-track story, it is a task for storywriter Arunabh Kumar (also the producer) to pen a script that is clear-headed and not muddled, and while he succeeds in engineering his work towards satiating the small-town people and devotees of Chhathi Maiya, he does not exactly get everything right. The dialogues (Anandeshwar Dwivedi) remains good, but work best in the comic sequences though.
The illogic begins with Rishi, an engineer, being shown to need a loan for an IVF. The minor issue is why at all his friend VP, who makes videos, has to accompany him to his village when he is going for a routine trip, because all that finally leads to is comedy that spoofs old films and serials, like a pre-1990s film needing a separate comic track. Then we have discrepancies like the audience being told that the village is four hours away by bus and we see daylight changing to night and once again to daytime when the bus finally arrives. Also in a long-distance bus, Rishi is standing! We have a celebration during which Rishi and Mamta break into what seems like an item song!
There are other avoidable things as well, like how no one talks of Rishi coming out of the dark forest safely with the runaway animal. Or the matter of the Memory Card that is shown in such a contrived manner. The property squabble between Shashi and Rishi and Sushila’s antagonism towards Rishi is also a little unnatural and forced. The builder angle is also not well-‘built’!
Despite all these flaws, the script and director Deepak Kumar Mishra handle the faith and devotion angle in a manner that will appeal to simple audiences who are strong on devotion. Mishra’s direction is unapologetically massy. The VFX and cinematography (Manu Anand) are well-done and have no tackiness. The production design by Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty is of high standard. The BGM score by Sandeep Shirodkar is well-done though the songs are too many and a mixed bag, with only Thummak thummak and Chhati maiyya standing out.
Sidharth Malhotra, in one word, is sincere. That word sums up his entire performance, though there is his address to Vandevi that sounds a bit too much like Shah Rukh Khan. Tamannaah has a briefer role but is good, and there are occasions, especially in mid-shots, wherein she looks like Madhuri Dixit Nene from Ram Lakhan and Beta.
Sunil Grover is a surprise as his character evolves. Maniesh Paul is the Mehmood-mixed-with-Asrani of an older era and his comedy track with Sulabha Arya does raise laughs. From the rest, I do feel that Avtar Gill as the sarpanch (village chief), Durgesh Kumar and Milind Gunaji as the priest are wasted. Anuup Soni and Shweta Tiwari are competent.
My ratings of every film are a blend of my views with how successfully the film vis-à-vis its target audiences’ requirements. And this time, there is a challenge of sorts to mix the two.
Rating: **1/2
Balaji Telefilms’ TVF Motion Pictures’ & 11:11 Productions’ Vvaan—Force of the Forrest Produced by: Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa R. Kapoor, Niraj Kothari & Arunabh Kumar Directed by: Deepak Kumar Mishra Written by: Arunabh Kumar & Anandeshwar Dwivedi Music: Vishal Mishra, Amit Trivedi, Tanishk Bagchi & Sam C. S. Starring: Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia, Anuup Soni, Shweta Tiwari, Sunil Grover, Avtar Gill, Milind Gunaji, Maniesh Paul, Sulabha Arya, Durgesh Kumar, Zeeshan Nadaf, Sundip Ved & others
