Deepak Kumar Mishra, director of TVF’s popular web series Panchayat, is now bringing The One: Force of the Forest to the big screen. The film draws from Indian folklore, faith and culture, with its story inspired by a nearly 400-year-old Van Devi temple in Bihar.
Arunabh Kumar has produced the film along with Ekta Kapoor and has co-written the story with Anandeshwar Dwivedi.
The film stars Sidharth Malhotra, Tamannaah Bhatia, Manish Paul and Sunil Grover. In a conversation with Dainik Bhaskar, Arunabh and Deepak spoke about the idea behind the film, 35-40 nights of shooting, the cast’s hard work and an interesting incident from the writing process.
Arunabh revealed that he accidentally cut his tongue while writing the story. After the incident, he decided to stop eating non-vegetarian food while working on the film.
Arunabh Kumar shared how his life changed while writing the story of Van Devi.
Arunabh Kumar: the story has two sources
Arunabh Kumar: The idea came from two sources. The first was Ekta Kapoor. We often visit temples together and discuss the stories associated with them. Ekta shared stories about the Mahalakshmi and Mukteshwar temples, after which we realised that many Indian temples have fascinating stories of their own.
The second source was my mother, who took me to the nearly 400-year-old Van Devi Temple in Bihta, around 35 km from Patna, during Durga Puja. I was deeply moved by its story and later narrated it to Deepak and Ekta. They liked it and felt it deserved to be made on a large scale.
Deepak found the folklore fresh
Deepak Kumar Mishra: I was very excited when I first heard the story. Such folklore has rarely been explored in Hindi cinema on the big screen. What attracted me was that although the story is rooted in folklore, it connects with questions people have even today.
The locations changed Deepak’s vision
Deepak Kumar Mishra: We initially started the story in Mumbai and wanted it to feel like the journey of an ordinary person. But once we reached the village and forest locations, my vision changed completely. Every location brought a new challenge, and we tried to present the story accordingly.
Arunabh became a vegetarian while writing
Arunabh Kumar: I first narrated the story to Deepak in Goa. While writing it, I accidentally bit my tongue after eating non-vegetarian food. I then decided not to eat non-veg while working on the story. Eventually, I became a vegetarian.
He added that when writers become deeply involved in a story, they often start connecting it with their own experiences.
Deepak Kumar Mishra explained how challenging it was for him to bring folklore to the big screen.
35–40 nights of shooting became an unforgettable experience
Deepak Kumar Mishra: We shot for nearly 35–40 nights. The team became so immersed in the story that even after shooting until 6 AM, everyone remained energetic. Since night itself is an important part of the story, we worked continuously through the nights without feeling the exhaustion.
Siddharth and Tamanna worked hard
Deepak Kumar Mishra: All the actors worked very hard. Siddharth and Tamanna were serious about their scenes and constantly looked for ways to improve them. They also wanted the cultural details to feel authentic. Siddharth worked especially hard on the action, while Manish Paul and Sunil Grover will bring something different for the audience.
Siddharth and Tamanna were chosen for their characters
Arunabh Kumar: We needed someone who could initially look like a city person and later fit naturally into the village setting. Siddharth was perfect for this. A one-hour meeting turned into a three-four-hour discussion about the story and characters.
Arunabh added that he believes this could be one of Siddharth’s best performances, while Tamannaah is also playing a very different character.
‘The One: Force of the Forest’ will be released on September 25, 2026.
TVF’s first theatrical film brings a bigger cinematic experience
Arunabh Kumar: We did not plan this as TVF’s first theatrical film. The idea came while narrating stories. Ekta liked it, we started writing, and the film gradually took shape. It has the relatability of TVF stories, along with a larger big-screen experience featuring Chhath, folklore, forests and animation.
‘Tripling’ and ‘Sapne Vs Everyone’ could become films
Arunabh Kumar: I think ‘Tripling’ and ‘Sapne Vs Everyone’ could work well as films. Even ‘Panchayat’ could be adapted for the big screen. Many of our stories have that potential.
‘Panchayat’ Season 5 is coming
Deepak Kumar Mishra: Season 5 is coming. I am waiting for it too and am equally excited to watch it.
