Varma’s take on Veerappan and his end could satisfy his fans, finally.
After Not a Love Story , there have been at least two dozen films from Ramgopal Varma that didn’t deserve our money and time, yet every time his film releases, there is a segment of audience that hopes he dishes out that one Eid Ka Chand. We cannot presume that everyone knows the life history of the dreaded forest brigand and smuggler Veerappan.
Though this isn’t a biopic, it takes you through a mission spearheaded by K. Vijay Kumar who planned the killing of Veerappan and whose role is reprised by Shiva Rajkumar. Even if we know there would be a superficial run on the efforts made to nab him, this movie is worth a watch as you would wait till the last scene for the gratifying moment of Shiva Rajkumar enjoying a piping hot cuppa within a small distance while bullets are pumped into Veerappan.
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Varma’s take on Veerappan’s character, his love for AK-47s, the childlike enthusiasm to meet Prabhakaran, the way he smashes his infant to a rock and his poker-faced expression while tying the thaali around Muthulakshmi’s neck is both repulsive and humorous.
What adds value to the story right from scene one is Varma’s clarity on the plot and what he is trying to convey. Surprisingly, the violence becomes a mechanical aspect of the film and what grabs your attention is the one-upmanship, the mind game of both the cops and Veerappan. For the Telugu audience, since Shiva Rajkumar may be an unfamiliar face, the screenplay and story are tight enough not to focus on any one character. It is all about waiting to see the denouement unfold. The dialogues for the prime characters stand out and the expressions convey a lot more than they should.
The women in the film are rather glamorous for a subject such as this, and a lot of footage has been given to the acquaintance and friendship of Muthulakshmi and the police informer.
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The last few scenes of Veerappan’s agony at snipping off his moustache which is his pride, glory and a symbol of strength is devoid of any heavy duty drama.
He merely looks at his followers askance and the final nail in the coffin comes as he gets into white robes and steps into an unfamiliar territory i.e out of the forest. The locations are real and the cinematography and re-recording are assets. Music, however, has a deja vu feel.
The entire cast – Shiva Rajkumar, Parul Yadav, Sandeep Bharadwaj – stands out.
The big plus to this film is the casting of Sandeep Bharadwaj as Veerappan; that is half the job done. Now that Varma has delivered a tight and a sensible thriller, the real nightmare is his next volley of films.
– Y. Sunita Chowdhary
Killing Veerappan
Cast: Sandeep Bharadwaj, Shiva Rajkumar
Director: Ramgopal Verma
Genre: Thriller
Music: Ravi Shankar
Bottomline: Once in a blue moon treat by RGV