Sidharth Malhotra On Finding Truth In The Supernatural World Of Vvaan

For Sidharth Malhotra, understanding Vvaan couldn’t begin with the action. Before stepping into its forest, its folklore or its supernatural world, the actor had to understand the people who believe in it.

The film draws from Indian folklore, local legends and stories passed down through generations. Writer Arunabh Kumar has spoken about discovering the folklore behind the film through his own interest in temples and Indian traditions, describing these folklores as being “as much history as mythology.” The story that eventually became Vvaan was inspired by the folklore of the Vandevi Temple in Bihta.

That grounding becomes important for Sidharth’s character. He isn’t entering a fantasy world where the supernatural is treated as an abstract concept; he is stepping into a milieu where people have lived alongside these stories long enough for them to become belief.

Talking about his prep, the actor said, “The most important thing for me was to understand the world before I could understand the character. I wanted to know what these stories mean to the people who grow up hearing them, why certain places become sacred and why these beliefs continue to exist across generations.”

The actor had to resist playing the supernatural simply as fear or spectacle. The teaser shows his character encountering the strange energy of Vvaan, questioning what he is seeing and trying to make sense of visions that seem to connect him to the forest. “I had to believe in the world of the film before I could expect the audience to believe in it. For me, the supernatural works best when you approach it with sincerity. These aren’t just stories within the film; they come from a very real cultural landscape, and that was something I wanted to respect in the way I played the character,” he adds.

For the actor, the preparation was therefore as much about getting the milieu into his head as getting the physicality into his body. He told us, “The more I understood the folklore and the environment, the more grounded my performance became. I didn’t want to play the extraordinary as extraordinary. I wanted to play it as truthfully as the character would experience it.”

Backed by some of the country’s most distinctive storytellers, The Vvaan brings together TVF’s Arunabh Kumar, director Deepak Mishra and Ektaa Kapoor for a commercial film that attempts to take Indian folklore into a new cinematic space. While its world is rooted in folklore and fantasy, the film brings together adventure, mystery and humour to shape itself as a complete family entertainer. The ambition extends beyond the film, with The Legend of Vvaan comic book already introducing audiences to the larger folklore surrounding its universe.

Presented by Balaji Motion Pictures, a division of Balaji Telefilms Ltd, in association with TVF and 11.11 Production, The Vvaan stars Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia. Written by Arunabh Kumar and directed by Deepak Mishra, with Manu Anand as DOP and Visual Director, the film is produced by Shobha Kapoor, Ektaa R Kapoor, Arunabh Kumar and Niraj Kothari.

The Vvaan arrives in cinemas on September 25, 2026, promising a big-screen fantasy folklore experience where the visuals, music, mystery and scale come together to create a world audiences will want to step into.