May 28, 2016 11:47 AM
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“A society gets the criminal it deserves.”
The movie begins with this Voltaire quote card. This, definitely, brought up my hopes and expectations from Veerappan under the direction of Ram Gopal Varma. Real faith in RGV directorial movies has become a distant dream.
Everyone is aware about Veerappan’s story, the boy who grew up in jungle and was feared by everyone. From killing people so that they could fear him, he was the lone smuggler for sandalwood and ivory who held his fort in Sathyamangalam forest. No one could ever find him unless he wants to be found. Trusting few people near him, but never flitches when it comes to killing a rat.
Well, this is what Koose Muniswamy Veerappan was all about, but what RGV has tried to bring out in the movie is completely different. Just the name matches, and nothing else keeps up to it. The movie shows the rise and fall of Veerappan and how Special Force task nabs and eliminates him. The movie is more about the Operation Cocoon then anything about Veerappan.
Let’s be honest, I was expecting to see how Veerappan came to be most dreaded brigand of all. That twirled moustache and grimaced rifle in his hand were not something he always had, but came through some transition. This non-bashful character has killed 97 cops and 900 elephants and took 2 decades to get him in laws claws.
Getting back to the storyline, Veerappan(Sandeep Bharadwaj) is shown as a family man living with his wife Muthulakshmi(Usha Jadhav). Sachiin Joshi(Cop) no nonsense officer, gets the task of striking at Veerappan. Lisa Ray playing the role of Priya, works as an instrument in this whole operation. Her motto to get involved comes from the fact that she was widowed by this bandit.
The first half of the movie shows Veerappan striding along, killing and animals equally, does start to make your skin crawl. Only breath of relief comes from the lush green forests and milky waterfalls of Karnataka that have been captured awesomely. Also, a little romantic banter the dacoit and his wifey Muthulakshmi brings little smile on the face.
The second half was all about Operation Cocoon, the plan made by Special task Force(STF) and it really needed to be more gripping. The most expensive operation in history of India to nab an extortist, smuggler and kill-at-sight bandit could have used some upheaval, dramatic wise. Only wish while watching this was the director who gave us Satya, Company and Sarkar could have punched in some more heat and action.
Talking about Sandeep Bharadwaj, who has this striking resemblance to Veerappan, was the only one serious about the character being played. Really hoped he could have got more space to show more of his talent. How many times do you find a look-alike of your real-life character and still do not use him to his upper limit. Usha Jadhav, National Award winner, sticks to her character really well and quite convincingly.
Sachiin Joshi, one of the producers, plays the head of STF and really kills the role with his deadpan acting. Similarly, Lisa Ray ticks out like a sore thumb, her dialogue delivery – the voice is clearly dubbed – is appalling.
Though not a real-deal RGV flick and doesn’t redeem much, but hoping for him to be back in his original form. This movie doesn’t give any up-close-and-personal experience with character of Veerappan, the one who made Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Government dance on his tunes.
Not much to expect, just a regular cinema, thrill is meagre.
