Sidharth Malhotra has turned the closing number of The Vvaan: Force of the Forrest into a wider argument about how Hindi cinema talks to its own audience. In his first joint appearance with Kiara Advani on Koffee With Karan, the actor addressed the skepticism that preceded his September 2026 fantasy adventure and asked the industry to stop discouraging moviegoers.
A ₹91.49 crore answer to early doubt
Host Karan Johar brought up the pre-release chatter that the film was not performing well. Malhotra did not deny the doubts, but he pointed to the result: The Vvaan grossed ₹91.49 crore worldwide during its theatrical run and is now streaming on Prime Video.
The film itself is built on regional folklore:
- Story world: Van Devi Temple legend near Bihta, Bihar
- Lead characters: Rishi, a Mumbai man, and Mamta, his wife, played by Tamannaah Bhatia
- Plot turn: A visit to Devanchal collides with a warning against entering the forest after dark
- Release path: September 2026 theatres, then Prime Video
The Bharat audience, not just the India audience
Malhotra’s explanation for the film’s connection was cultural. “There is an India and there is a Bharat,” he said, arguing that the Bharat audience is what is “coming out to watch our films.” In his telling, those viewers want stories that feel rooted and specific—in writing, performance and sequences.
That framing matters because it reframes The Vvaan not as a narrow regional project, but as a bet on an underserved theatrical audience. The film’s use of an actual folklore site gives the fantasy a local anchor that a generic visual-effects template would lack.
A plea for support rather than discouragement
The conversation broadened into a critique of industry behaviour. Malhotra said Bollywood has “more of that” negativity, with “nobody” having anything good to say, and called for “a sense of an industry where people help each other.” Pressed on critics in the rapid-fire round, he separated reviewing from deterrence: “Give your opinion, but it is not always about dissing or discouraging people to go to the theatres.”
The setting sharpened the point. This is the ninth and final season of Koffee With Karan, which first premiered in 2003 and is streaming on JioHotstar. An end-of-run reflection became a stock-taking of Bollywood’s own habits.
The number matters less as a record than as a response. Malhotra’s comments are less about defending one film’s performance than about resetting how the industry speaks before a release.
The Bharat-India distinction is not new in public discourse, but using it as theatrical segmentation is a specific claim about where Hindi cinema’s growth may lie. If the industry follows the argument, more campaigns will lead with local myth and cultural specificity rather than hide them.
For trade watchers, the tension is genuine: early negativity can harden an audience’s view before the first show, but unconditional cheerleading can erode trust. Malhotra’s position is that the industry should lean toward encouragement, and leave the sharper judgment to paying viewers.
Source: India Weekly
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