The Hunt for Veerappan

I must not have paid too much attention at the news at that time or maybe it was too far from my bed but I don't remember anything from that manhunt. Interesting documentary though, well made, and consisting mostly of interviews from people that were involved in that case, whether it be sympathizers, family, media, or government agencies. Everybody has an opinion about him, from evil to almost saviour, the truth is that he wasn't a good guy, neither were the government agencies nor his wife. Amazing that it took them so long before catching him. I sincerly doubt he would have made it that long almost anywhere else in the world.

Saw the Netflix Movie, "The Hunt for Veerappan", the most dreaded man called sandalwood Verappan! He was said to have killed closed 220 people 50 policemen, killed 1000 elephants in a span of 20 years so!!

The Docufilm was very well made laced with interview from his wife Muthukakshmi, close associate and living policemen who had been part of STF to nab him. An objective enacted film without taking any sides of the two state govts or policemen or Veerappan and his gang.

Though one may argue that he was a southie robinhood, in my opinion at least, there can be no justification in glorifying his actions "as a hero"! A society cannot evolve n survive with gun culture- one wrong cannot annul another! And this holds good for both Veerappan and the police who were deployed by cunning looting politicians who ruled both the states during the time... We know for a fact that any smuggly -remember in 1990s till 2004 killing of 1000 elephants n felling of lakhs of sandlewood trees ,now reduced to 25%,could not have been achieved without connivance of politicians n police with the gangster like Veerappan!!!

But i liked the objective way the producers n director have made it. KUDOS TO THEM. .. In fact it is far far better than Oppenheimer the holywood hypocritical docubio!!

As a kid growing up during peak Veerappan times, during the kidnapping, all I remember about the whole thing are the features on Sun News and what the elders used to talk about. I also remember the "Veerappan ah pudika vakku illa" dialogue from Kaakha Kaakha. Given my limited knowledge about Veerappan and all the events from back then, this was a very fascinating watch.

This is a 4-ep documentary, not a biopic, about the approach that the police forces from TN and KA had to capture him. Several individuals directly involved in the process, including Veerappan's wife Muthulakshmi speak in this doc. The editing and the storytelling in worth the 3.5-4 hours. The narration is slow but worth it. The original doc has a mix of English, Tamil and Kannada narration, but there's a full dub as well, in case you're wondering.

Very well documented timeline of this dreaded criminal. From late 80s until early 2000s. How so many different people involved in his life from wife to police to STF personals to friends to villagers to negotiators to traders account for his life is something you cannot find in any movie or book so far done on him,

Personal note not amounting to the rating given: I remember while growing up in Bangalore the stories of Veerappan and his atrocities were norm. I was in 2nd year of my college when Rajkumar was kidnapped and the days followed were horrific to say the least. The thing was that it took a kidnapping of an actor, though well revered to take this man more seriously than ever. Not that there were no sincere efforts were being taken to nab him but it all were failing due to many reasons which this documentary has shown quite aptly.

The documentary is produced in accordance with international standards. Congratulations to the technical and direction teams. The documentary strives to be objective, but if they go into further detail, Veerappan may become a hero. Police violence has never been presented in detail; what Walter Devaram and Rambo did to the people has never been shown. The state police and the gang never care about the people caught between the two. Even after 35 years, the village and its inhabitants have not changed. There was no development to improve their standard of living. The climax was not fully explained. They appear to have agreed to a police-created cover-up scenario. No one is born a criminal; society and their environment shape them. The only thing I admire about Veerappan is his ability to survive in the forest. No one has gotten close to him in nearly 20 years of searching.