Killing Veerappan

Ram Gopal Varma is a specialised course of Movie Making University. With #KillingVeerappan he proves it. Its interesting to see, how an already known, (may be or may not be true), story can be woven into a set of scene sketches such that it makes a thrilling screenplay & yet simple & interesting.

There are two aspects one should appreciate in this 'masterpiece' (You can't simply title it a 'masterpiece' and call it so #ManjuMandavya...):

1) Characterisation: None of the characters are extraordinary or heroic. Everyone is simple human beings. Veerappan himself is portrayed as someone who does what he does for his living. He kills to steal weapons and protect himself, as if it's his profession. His behaviour with his lover/wife is as simple any other couple. He fights with her; wants to meet her even if it's risky. He is passionate about guns. His expressions when he receives AK47 weapons show it all. He is proud of his mustache. He is not hulky-bulky. He is lean with acute sense of alertness. He also wants to make more money, expand his business, and come into good terms with big leaders. I mean, nowhere he is a super human being. Talking of Shivaraj Kumar as STF operative, again a simple character, with a little courage to think about eliminating Veerappan. He is not a six-packed abs guy. A coffee-lover. His 'idea' is not a greatest of the ones. He doesn't indulge in dialoguebazi. His strength is being a good analyser.

Both of them emote a body language, you feel like asking, why are these guys not acting...well in a moment you'll realise that's precisely what they are doing...(#RGV, you're the man..!!)

2) Production Values: The plot is controversial enough to push the audience to theaters. But, nope..!!. #RGV does not compromise on quality of output. The camera experiments itself, at unthinkable angles. The 360-degree capture of chase scene near the farm house is worth the experiment. The steering wheel angles are interesting. It must be mentioned that BGM in the movie makes more talking than characters. Music is very apt...made to order of #RGV. Not compromised on lyrics. Especially the 'Damma-Dikka' & 'Spot' tracks direct the tempo of the movie.

Watch this movie with a mind-set to appreciate the art of movie- making, subtle creativity & researched content, than the inherent controversy around the selected plot. You may not agree with the disguised facts presented, but, remember, it's just a cinema. We may have to see it as a fictional work. Don't be surprised, somewhere, towards the end of the movie, if you fall sympathetic towards the brigand himself. Remember, that is cinema.

In my opinion, the Indian cinema lacks the traction(reasons, immaterial!)when it comes to sensible, no-nonsense, non-'masala' movies about professionals like the armed forces, Intel. agencies and so on. In such circumstances, movies like these are a relief and a glimmer of hope.

First of all, the show is stolen by Shiva Rajkumar! His portrayal of an obsessed and workaholic, ruthless and unconventional, loyal and righteous officer is thrilling. Note that he isn't named in the whole movie(at least, I didn't realize!). His numerous disguises in the movie seem genuine. Nowhere, as the STF chief, he sermonizes about good or bad, he effectively conveys the fact that he's doing what it takes to eliminate Veerappan. When questioned about his ruthless killing of Veerappan's team members, he shrugs saying 'I am killing to tell people that killing is not justified'.

As I said in the beginning, the presentation of the movie's plot and the sequence of events are something that majority of Indian movies lack. There are almost no 'masala' or melodramatic moments. The occupational hazards, the perils, the dedication of the police officers makes service-class,9-5 types people like me feel puny. Tracing a soulless criminal like Veerappan in the dense forests, getting ambushed, betrayals - all these facts are daunting for a common man. Unlike the masterpiece 'Madras Cafe', the director and his team haven't shied from directly referring to LTTE's Prabhakaran, the martyred officers, Veerappan's family and team members. From guessing and eliminating mole within STF, then following the leads provided by that mole to uncover more leads and information reminded me of another classic 'Sarfarosh'.

The plot of the movie is the second strong point. In a span of 2.5h, the writers have tried to cover/mention as many significant incidents pertaining to Veerappan as possible, in the least gory ways.There are several scenes in the movie worth mentioning: 1. Since the beginning, the STF leader(played by Shiva Rajkumar)is clear on the point that Veerappan can be captured/eliminated only after he is lured out of the jungle. During the entire mission, he doesn't sway from that track and constantly improvises his approach 2. Interrogating for information and later eliminating Veerappan's team members, ensuring the spy cam removal before Mutthulakshmi returns to her rented apartment 3. STF chief mocks his subordinate's logic and says that he's a History student and knows how to learn from History 4. Breaking the leg of the captured arms supplier just to ensure that Veerappan buys the idea that the dealer cannot deliver arms in person but rather delegate it to someone else

The cinematography is well-suited to the movie's plot and pace. The make-up crew deserves special mention, the actors seem genuinely the characters(another aspect that Indian movies, especially, Bollywood lack - even a soldier toiling in the desert is having a clean face, without a particle of sand!).

The movie isn't the best of Ram Gopal Varma's works. The camera movements are often irritable, especially, during the shootout near the guest house near the forest. While Varma is known to take liberties, which he accepts openly, there are some points that cannot be digested e.g: Shreya being part of STF after her cover is blown, despite of the lack of combat experience, she participates in all field actions, her identity is disclosed at the end to Mutthulakshmi, the manner in which Gandhi is planned to be arrested - all these are mishaps that no police professional would land in. The lyrics of the songs are defiant and pump up the blood but the music composition for the same is lame !!!

Overall, I would place this movie in the top 10 Indian police movies.

The movie is based on Veerappan's real life and is in Rgv style. Sandeep Bhardwaj, who played Veerappan, did very well. Shivraj Kumar, who acted as the Commissioner of Police, acted very well.other actor performance just ok but movie nice. Story not to say, I have to watch the movie.

This is my first review on IMDb. The trailer was very intriguing, it made me go to the movie on a working day. At first, I thought as usual I will not get a chance to watch this movie in a cinema hall near my place. But, thankfully I didn't travel far to watch it. Two cinema- halls were showing "Killing Veerappan" here. All right, coming to the movie - The movie is incredibly made with proper cast, locations, background score, and DOP. The movie runtime showed covered the actual topic which the director (RGV) wanted to showcase - Operation Cocoon. Sandeep Bharadwaj looks exactly like the Veerappan, he's got a striking resemblance. Overall, the movie is really appreciable. I don't want to judge the movie with all the research I did regarding Veerappan, Muthulakshmi, Operation Cocoon, and Sandalwood smuggling.

The Movie was Extraordinary it is a big breakthrough movie for Ram Gopal Varma it is Simply one of the best movies i can see in my life it is equally popular to babhubali making the Siva raj kumar played an extra ordinary cop role i felt as if he is really dealing with virapan every moment in the movie is filled with suspense,eager,anxiety the girl parul yadav character is also very interesting the yagna shetty played a great role which is important to story in the movie what makes us to talk about it is the way the cameras were placed the zoom in and out is extraordinary the background score is ultimate it is a kind of tragic beat we will get immersed into the cinema the way the climax ended is awesome and this Advent will change the way of taking of movies in future thanks for a great movie RGV Sir actually i was not aware of sivarajkumar sir but after this movie i became his huge fan..