The folklore-fantasy film starring Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia reportedly received a clean U/A 16+ certificate from India's censor board, an outcome described as unusually rare just three days before its theatrical debut.
The Vvaan: Force Of The Forrest, headlined by Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia, has reportedly been cleared by India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) with a U/A 16+ certificate and no requested cuts or audio-visual modifications, according to multiple entertainment outlets including Bollywood Hungama and Mashable India. The certification was reportedly issued on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, ahead of the film's scheduled theatrical release on Friday, September 25, 2026. The certified runtime stands at 136.25 minutes, equivalent to 2 hours, 16 minutes and 25 seconds.
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What the Certificate Reveals
Bollywood Hungama, in an exclusive report, identified the certificate number as DIL/7/163/2026-MUM, with the certification date listed as September 22, 2026. The publication's cast-and-crew record for the film corroborates the release date of September 25, 2026, the runtime of roughly 2 hours 16 minutes, and the U/A classification. Filmfare independently reported the same 136.25-minute duration drawn directly from the censor certificate, lending consistency to the figures circulating across outlets.
The defining element of the coverage is the reported absence of cuts. According to the reports, the CBFC's Examining Committee did not require filmmakers to remove or alter any scene, dialogue, sound element, or visual material before granting clearance. Bollywood Hungama framed this as unusual, noting that most films submitted for certification face at least some requested edits or modifications, though the report stopped short of citing statistics on how frequently a fully unmodified clearance occurs.
Understanding the U/A 16+ Classification
The U/A 16+ rating places The Vvaan in a category intended primarily for viewers aged 16 and above, while still permitting younger audiences to attend under parental guidance, subject to theatre-enforcement practices. This is distinct from an adults-only certificate; instead, it signals that the board considers the film unsuitable for unrestricted viewing by children without adult supervision.
Importantly, the certification reports reviewed do not detail the film's complete plot, character arcs, or the specific content elements that led the board to apply the 16+ threshold. Publicly available coverage describes the project as a folklore-based fantasy or fantasy-adventure film, but any claim attributing the rating to specific violence, language, or thematic content would go beyond what the certification reports establish and should be treated as speculation absent an official CBFC statement or detailed certificate notes.
A Discrepancy Worth Noting: Conditions Versus Cuts
Not all reports align perfectly on the details of the clearance. One early report indicated that the board had asked the filmmakers to include the title and credits in the language of the film and to add an anti-drug ticker or advertisement at the start and during the interval — standard presentation requirements common to many Indian theatrical releases. However, Bollywood Hungama's more specific account stated that even these routine additions were not sought in The Vvaan's case, describing the film as cleared entirely untouched.
This distinction carries editorial significance. "Zero cuts" refers strictly to the absence of editorial deletions from the film's narrative content, whereas mandated presentation changes — such as language-specific credits or public-service messaging — are technically certification conditions that do not alter the story itself. Based on the available reporting, the most defensible framing is that the film passed without any scene, audio, or visual cuts, while sources differ on whether ancillary display or anti-drug messaging requirements were separately imposed.
Trailer Certification Sets the Stage
The feature film's clearance follows an earlier certification milestone involving its promotional material. On September 12, 2026, The Vvaan's theatrical trailer reportedly received its own U/A 16+ certificate, with a runtime of 2 minutes and 57 seconds, as reported by Sacnilk alongside similar trailer certification news for the unrelated film Udta Teer. While trailer certification carries no bearing on the feature film's eventual rating, the matching U/A 16+ classification across both the trailer and the full film indicates a consistent regulatory treatment of the project's content throughout its promotional cycle.
What Comes Next for Distributors and Audiences
With certification granted on September 22, distributors and exhibitors have a narrow three-day window to finalize release logistics before the September 25 opening. No reports reviewed indicate any appeal, re-examination, or scheduling dispute connected to the certificate, suggesting the process moved without friction toward the planned launch date.
The reported clean clearance may become a talking point in the film's publicity, framed as evidence that Malhotra, Bhatia, and the filmmaking team retained their intended cut without board-mandated alterations. However, certification status alone does not indicate anything about critical reception, audience turnout, or box-office performance. No official statement from the CBFC, the film's stars, director, producers, or distributors appears in the reports reviewed, meaning the "no cuts" narrative currently rests on media reporting rather than a published CBFC order or certificate image made public. The verified anchors for this story remain the September 22 certification date, the U/A 16+ rating, the 136.25-minute runtime, and the confirmed September 25, 2026 theatrical release date.
