5 reasons The Vvaan: Force of the Forest teaser didn't hit the mark

Directors Arunabh Kumar and Deepak Kumar Mishra's The Vvaan: Force of the Forest, starring Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia, sees a rational urban man defying his ancestral village's forbidden forest and awakening a divine goddess, forcing him to confront powers beyond logic as he becomes the unlikely saviour protecting his people from annihilation.

All set to hit the screens on September 25, and with the teaser already released, makers expected this Sidharth Malhotra film to rustle up some hype. However, the teaser and the song received lukewarm reception. Here's why Vvaan's teaser may have left viewers unimpressed.

A heavy reliance on artificial green-screen and CGI environments, and the AI voiceover, was a big NO-NO. The forest visuals appeared unfinished, flat, and noticeably fake, drawing unfavourable comparisons to films that shot on real locations. And don't let us get started on the animal CGIs used.

The visual treatment, lighting, and overall production design felt outdated. It resembled some mid-2010s television serials or regional B-movies rather than a modern, high-budget 2026 theatrical release.

The soundtrack in the trailer for The Vvaan: Force Of The Forest failed to build tension or heighten the mystery, leaving key action and atmospheric shots feeling underwhelming. Again, it was repetitive and sounded more like an animated Indian mythological film from about 10-15 years ago.

Despite being pitched as a unique folklore spectacle, the teaser felt trope-heavy and repetitive, lacking a fresh hook to distinguish itself from similar regional thriller tropes. The divine goddess, who is not revealed fully except for her eyes on a piece of stone, is again so dated. Regional mythological television serials have been showing it the same way for years.

The Vvaan will inevitably be compared to the forest folklore franchise Kantara. But Kantara felt rooted and culturally authentic, and did not just borrow the visual language of regional folklore. The Vvaan may struggle because its heavy reliance on AI-generated imagery and visual effects makes it look too manufactured.

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