Veerappan

There needs no introduction while talking about the most notorious person ever seen by India, Veerappan, he had vanished or killed from here around 17 years back. Lots of articles, documentaries, and even films come out publicly depicting the biography of Veerappan. There also comes a book written by the Chief of Special Task Force, K Vijayakumar who was the mastermind behind the killing of Veerappan named Veerappan: Chasing the Brigand. Here we are talking about a film, which is also about the last moments of Veerappan, that directed by the veteran Ram Gopal Varma. Like Veerappan, the name Ram Gopal Varma is so famous not in the way how Veerappan was known and he was a genius in Film Industry. He made wonderful movies and created a space in the mind of film lovers. Veerappan is his 2016 product and this film is not at all flavored with the actual Ram Gopal Varma essence. This is an 'okay' film that has ups and downs. The movie is about the movement of the police to capture Veerappan. Poor Script is the main thing I want to point here because there is a rush in the making while the incidents are going on. The director has that kind of a mind to restrict the film within 2 hours, and I feel so. The misplaced use of background scores feels inappropriate and the performance from some of the actors feels awkward. Especially the character of Shreya which was done by Lisa Ray is not fit in that role. The director or even the writers can't add anything freshness to the story because we all know the story very well. The task for them is to engage us the but unfortunately, they are failed to do so. There is also a docu-fiction named Killing Veerappan and that was also directed by Ram Gopal Varma which is not at all like Veerappan, the film. Anyway, the film is so short and only focused on the ending of Veerappan's killing.

Superb direction acting by all. Seemed riveting like Madras cafe with focus on main plot. well done Ramu. loved it thoroughly. Veerapan looked exactly like real but lead Police officer i.e Joshi lacked intensity (may be his character demanded it). I truly believe that the way story has been told by Ramu kept interest alive throughout the movie and its worth watching time and again.

What has happened to RGV he has always been one of my favorite directors and what sort of movies does he make these days , the movie was so bad that I could barely watch it somehow I managed to finish it . Bad bad bad avoid it

A 360-degree camera spin follows this Voltaire quote, and you find yourself surrounded by a dense forest and trumpeting tuskers. This territory belongs to Veerappan, a killing machine who counts LTTE chief Prabhakaran as his inspiration. You wish to know more about this rugged man, and a child appears with a camera mounted over his shoulders.

The kid takes you on a time warp and loud background score ensures you remain stuck there for a while. And then you breathe, recognise and realise it is that Ram Gopal Varma touch. Welcome to the world of omnipresent cameras.Now, to the film's story: Different task forces couldn't kill or capture Veerappan (Sandeep Bhardwaj) in more than 15 years, so the project has been handed over to a no-nonsense cop (Sachin Joshi), who hasn't been given a name in the film. He involves Shriya (Lisa Ray), an untrained civilian, in a highly confidential plan to eliminate Veerappan for reasons best known to Varma.Though we know what happened on October 18, 2004, the day Veerappan was killed, we still sit in anticipation of RGV's trademark storytelling, if we can ignore bad acting and touches like a candle in an already well lit room. There is a straight lift from Sholay as well. Who said RGV is out of his Aag hangover! The disappointment grows when the script fails to produce any grip over the characters. Nobody other than Bhardwaj looks serious about the film. Thanks to his make-up artist, he reminds the viewer of the dreaded man from the beginning, but he has a gang that looks absolutely out of sync.

The cop, Joshi, takes this cluelessness many notches higher by inviting Lisa Ray to the interrogation room holding one of Veerappan's aides. She breathes heavily, almost orgasmically, and it all becomes so ridiculous that you wonder who will faint first -- Ray or the bandit?Other characters bring no relief despite Varma's flourishes of using camera from unexpected angles. The attempt to produce a taut thriller is hampered by the fact Veerappan states the obvious. Rather than how and why of the dreaded smuggler's rise in the border areas of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, it seeks refuge in dishing out the details of Operation Cocoon.

Instead of diving deep into Veerappan's past, there is an effort to create a positive halo around him. At a point, he candidly describes how he received only Rs 7 lakh out of the total Rs 9 crore ransom in the kidnapping of Kannada superstar, Dr Rajkumar. The basic idea is to present it as a morally ambiguous story where the good can also use evil means, but that isn't enough.

Having said that, this 126-minute film has pace and a narrative technique which may give you a glimpse of RGV's old charm. But, the mojo isn't completely back yet.

Veerappan review :

That Ram Gopal Varma loves Dawood and his company staff is well known. He also adores Veerappan. No kidding doston; till date the maverick director has made atleast 3 films on Veerappan...'Jungle' (2000) featuring Urmila Matondkar and Fardeen Khan, the Kannada docu-drama 'Killing Veerappan' (2015) and now the hindi 'Veerappan' which released yesterday.

While I haven't seen the Kannada film, 'Jungle' didn't make a good impression on me because it came in the era when RGV had 'Rangeela', 'Satya' and 'Koun' as his calling cards. Not anymore!! Today, after a string of intolerable duds ('RGV Ki Aag', 'Department' to name just two...), RGV ka Veerappan appears a significant improvement over those turnips but still doesn't come close to 'Jungle' - forget the outstanding 'Satya' (1997) or 'Company' (2002). So basically, Ramuji pass hue (..after multiple failures) par second class mein...

Starting horridly, the first fifteen minutes of Veerappan resemble an orgy of blood and gore where humans are mercilessly hacked to small pieces, elephants are shot dead and their tusks uprooted - all this to a continuous onslaught of ear blasting background music screaming Veer Veer Veer Veer Veerappan!!!!

Things get better when Varma starts focusing on the operation helmed by a nameless cop (Sachiin Joshi) to nail the elusive criminal with help of a widow (Lisa Ray, still looking desirable) of a slain task force officer.

RGV employs hard core commercial elements to narrate the biopic - like replicating Gabbar's introduction scene from 'Sholay' (1975) to giving a Rashomonesque twist to Veerappan's daughters death.

Zareen Khan's sensuous item number is left out and I certainly missed that on the big screen.

Anyways, a few facets of Veerappan are interestingly captured like his idolising the LTTE chief Prabhakaran and his unfulfilled ambition to kidnap Superstar Rajinikanth.

On the flip side, Sachiin Joshi and Lisa Ray are pathetic casting decisions. The background score is too loud and distracting. Editing cuts are haphazard. The film's length appears long even at just over two hours.

Of the cast, Sandeep Bharadwaj, in the titular role, looks convincing. Usha Jadhav as Veerappan's wife is completely natural. Her emotions in the concluding scene are spot on.

After a long time, RGV has made a fairly decent film but the touch of 'Satya' is still missing. He's getting there though.....

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.