Plot:
Given Police’s failure track record of capturing renowned smuggler and bandit Veerappan (Sandeep Bharadwaj), SP Senthamarai Kannan (Shivraj Kumar) make repeated attempts to capture Veerappan with the help of informer Shreya (Parul Yadav) who rents her house to Veerappan’s wife Muttu Lakshmi (Yagna Shetty) and befriends her. Unexpectedly, in spite of his daredevil and astute planning, SP Kannan fails in capturing Veerappan and loses few of his key team members. Agonized SP Kannan now hatches a bigger and lethal plan to kill Veerappan and that is Operation Cocoon. So, how did he execute and succeed in his mission forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Sandeep Bharadwaj: Nonetheless to say, he is the find of the year. Its RGV’s sheer brilliance to be able to see Veerappan in him and this talented actor didn’t disappoint his director. It was indeed like seeing Veerappan come alive.
Shiva RajKumar: The Kannada Superstar was yet another showstopper in the film that rather runs from his perspective. He got into the skin of the character with ease and aplomb and delivered an engrossing act.
Parul Yadav: Amidst some big names, this girl managed to grab eyeballs with her commendable act in the role of a trusted spy.
Yagna Shetty: She fits the bill as Veerappan’s wife and does a decent job.
The rest of the cast has been so ideal and contributed their best to this engaging suspense drama.
Analysis:
We have to start with a disclaimer – this isn’t a film about Veerappan but in fact about Killing Veerappan (as the title suggests) from the point of view of Operation Cocoon (the operation set to hunt notorious Veerappan).
Now talking about the ‘Operation’ as a film, Ram Gopal Varma is back with his strength – telling real life tales with an engrossing cinematic effect. Killing Veerappan includes various episodes of the last phase of the successful operation translated onscreen through RGV’s lens.
RGV’s plot and screenplay are flawless with arresting visuals, performances and background score. But the pace of the film is certainly a concern for the common audience. There are few highs in the film especially when the task force eats their first blow from Veerappan and not to forget about the most awaited climax.
However, the film lacks the quintessential ‘RGV’ mark wow factors that usually give goose bumps. Perhaps this is different from personal revenge sagas like Raktha Charitra, Sarkar series and hence the change from the maverick storyteller.
The film that kicks off with the mission to trap Veerappan slowly walks into SP Kannan’s witty plots, Veerappan’s retaliation, spying, and trust-betrayal conflicts, revealing some shocking facts about Veerappan’s Superstar Rajkumar’s murder, his other associations and aspirations. Well, the much awaited and anticipated climax however takes time but if you have some patience, you’ll sail it off.
Merits:
Story & screenplay
Casting and Performances of the lead cast.
Cinematography
Background score
De-merits:
Pace and run-time of the film.
Lack of wow factors.
Music:
Unlike conventional commercial music, Killing Veerappan has some haunting tunes like Hayya Hayya by Ravi Shankar, Munna Kasi & Sathya Kahsyap. Above all, the back ground score by Sandy was exceptional. If the film the film is any engaging, the background score deserved a lion share of the credit. Lyrics by Sira Sri were ideal and insightful.
Others:
Departments like Casting, Art Direction & Cinematography deserve a special mention.
Verdict:
Killing Veerappan is a one-time watch film about Operation Cocoon. Certainly not RGV’s best but all you RGV & Raktha Charitra fans, you can check this out! Best in his recent lot.