Veerappan is perhaps the most known and hunted dacoit or smuggler in contemporary history of Indian crime. Veerappan’s territory spanned the forests and lands of three states from Karnataka to Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Veerappan was a movie waiting to be made. There have been a couple of others that have faintly taken Veerappan like bandits in the forest as a background. But this is the real story of Veerappan.
Veerappan began as an assistant to his relative working in sandalwood business and graduated to a full smuggler soon. Smuggling Sandalwood and killing elephants for Ivory were his gang’s main businesses. He ran a tight, small army and controlled people by instilling fear. From his first murder at the age of seventeen to the mass murder of more than fifteen policemen by exploding a landmine, Veerappan was a force to reckon in the three states.
Killing Veerappan (2016)
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Stars: Lisa Ray, Zarine Khan, Sandeep Bharadwaj
He later graduated to abductions of policemen and famous personalities for ransom. Although a special task force was constituted to catch him in 1992, Veerappan eluded arrest until 2004. Veerappan and his aids were killed in the final encounter in October 2004. He used the forests and locals to his advantage, but also had sympathizers among ruling politicians, which allowed him to survive for so long.
Ram Gopal Varma’s Veerappan is a remake of the Kannada docudrama – Killing Veerappan – and focuses mainly on his capture. Sandeep Bharadwaj plays Veerappan in the movie and looks the man to the tee. With a thriller, Ram Gopal Varama is in his element and I am hoping for a thrilling two hours in the theater.
Movie Review
The movie begins with a boom of a double barrel gun and you are hooked with a thrilling start. But ten minutes into the movie any hopes of a edge-of-the-seat thriller vanish. The movie is more like a docu dram than commercial cinema. Sony TV regulars will see a lot of familiar faces, mainly from Crime Patrol.
The script of the movie is weak and you lose interest in the story many times. Although Sandeep Bharadwaj has nailed the look, the mannerisms and quirks of the bandit are debatable. The supporting cast performances are mediocre and further weaken the movie. Most of the thrills area result of booming background music than any real tension on the screen.
Lisa Ray plays a crucial role of a spy to capture the gangster, but her presence during interrogations and the last scene defies any logic. Moreover, she fails to express any specific emotion and her gestures and expressions are almost comical during these scenes.
For all the biographical angle, the movie rarely talks about Veerappan the person. A rare attempt to show his side of the story is cut short abruptly.
Overall this not the RGV of Satya or Rangeela or any of the other fabulous movies he has given us. I wouldn’t suggest spending time at the theater on this one as the movie has no thrills nor is the investigation and strategy made interesting.
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