Producer: Ram Gopal Verma
Director: Ram Gopal Verma
Star Cast: Sandeep Bhardwaj, Sachiin J Joshi, Usha Jadhav, Lisa Ray et al
Music: Shaarib – Toshi & Jeet Ganguli
Director Ram Gopal Verma’s earlier claim to fame have been films like Satya, Sarkar, Rangeela et al. But alas! his directorial downfall started with mad capper films like Aag, Satya 2 et al. But now with a film like Veerappan he seems to have gone completely off his rockers. May be taking a little sabbatical from film making will be good for his health including the audiences & the critics too.
The plotted scenario of Veerappan starts off with the ruthless & the brutal killing of police officers in the dense jungles of Satyamangalam, situated in Southern India. This is followed by a narration of flashback of events by STF officer Kannan (Sachiin J Joshi), wherein he traces the past of Veerappan (Sandeep Bhardwaj) and the incidents that led him to become the most notorious criminal ever. The flashback states that Veerappan made his 1st killing when he was in his pre – teens. Once he tasted blood & money, there was no looking back for him. Despite being an illiterate, his sharp mind & meticulous planning could put anyone & everyone to shame, so much so that, even the combined police forces of Karnataka & Tamil Nadu always ended up being unsuccessful in nabbing him. Looking at the recurring gruesome & heartless killings, the sole purpose of Kannan’s life becomes to nab Veerappan by hook or by crook. During one such search operation, even though Kannan and his team become unsuccessful in nabbing Veerappan, they end up getting hold of his dutiful wife Muthulakshmi (Usha Jadhav). That’s when Kannan hatches a masterplan with Priya (Lisa Ray), who agrees to be a part of the plan, because Veerappan had killed her husband as well. As per the plan, Priya poses as a landlord of a big house, where Muthulakshmi is brought in as a tenant. Priya then, befriends her with her sweet talks & caring nature. As days pass by, Muthulakshmi falls for Priya’s sweet talks and gradually discloses the whereabouts of her husband Veerappan. Around that time, she also discloses many unknown facts about Veerappan’s life to Priya, who becomes shell shocked after knowing the bare facts.
Director Ram Gopal Varma while making Veerappan has clearly forgotten to include the long drawn out kidnapping episode of Kannada Cinema’s matinee idol Dr. Rajkumar maybe the inclusion of this thrilling & captivating scenario of almost 90 days would have made the film worth wathing to some extent. All said & done Ramu may have made one more damp squib film like Veerappan but the devil must be given his due credit as Veerappan excels in the technical department. So a special noteworthy mention goes to R. D. Tailang for his script, John Stewart Eduri for his background music, Aniket Khandagale for his cinematography & Anwar Ali for his editing.
Performance wise Sandeep Bharadwaj has delivered an excellent performance. His looks, behaviour & body language matches perfectly with the original Verrappan and he is really convincing & resounding like the real Veerappan. Sachiin J Joshi is superb in his role of an STF officer. Usha Jadhav is okay as Veerappan’s wife. Lisa Ray is convincing in her role of a journo.
Tail Piece: Veerappan is a violent film that may not cater to the niche audiences but it will prove to be a delight for the comman man who relishes such films.
