Hunt For Veerappan documentary

Documentary Name: The Hunt For Veerappan
Director: Selvamani Selvaraj
Number of Episodes: 4
Year of Release: 2023
Our Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 stars

The Hunt For Veerappan is a four-part documentary series that tracks the journey of India’s dreaded criminal, smuggler, bandit, and forest brigand, Veerappan.

The documentary intersperses accounts from people associated with Veerappan’s life, including his wife, gang members, local villagers, journalists, forest officers, and police officials. Each offers their perspective on a criminal who dodged the Indian authorities for over two decades.

While Veerapan’s journey into crime and sandalwood smuggling began much earlier, The Hunt For Veerappan documentary shows his life from 1989 onwards. Around this time, Veerapan met his wife, Muthulakshmi, whose perspective during the four episodes provided a counterbalance to other views.

“If someone was true to him, he was ready even to sacrifice his life. But if someone tries to betray him, he would not hesitate to kill them.” – Muthulakshmi quips with a smile.

The documentary opens with a back shot of Muthulakshmi, who recounts how, at the age of 15, she saw Veerappan for the first time, with his swirling moustache, and the immediate marriage proposal he received from the man. Veerapan was 39 years old then.

Veerapan was responsible for killing over 1,000 elephants for ivory, and the large-scale sandalwood smuggling in the MM forests spread across three Indian states: Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala.

The documentary notes that the pillaged forest resources were valued at Rs. 100 crores (US $22 million) as per published reports in 2004.

If looting forest resources and killing harmless animals were not enough, he and his gang were involved in several killings of civilians, ministers, and security officers.

For several years during the 1990s and early 2000s, Veerappan was involved in the killing of more than 120 people. The gruesome killings involved bomb blasts, beheadings, guerrilla-style murders, etc.

In 1991, Veerappan shot and beheaded an unarmed forest officer, Sreenivas, who was called to his hideout under the pretence that he wanted to surrender. In 1993, he killed 20 security team members in a landmine blast.

In 2000, Veerappan kidnapped a highly popular Kannada cinema actor, Rajkumar, and three others, which caused a huge public outcry and violence.

In addition, the documentary highlights Veerapan’s candid interviews with TV channels, his connections with the militant organisation, the LTTE, and his stature as a Robin Hood amongst the local people.

After playing hide and seek with security and administration, finally, in 2004, Veerappan was killed in an encounter at 52.

Even though authorities from two large Indian states were involved at the highest level, the MM forest provided shelter and escape to Veerappan. As per the documentary, since the formation of the Special Task Force, the two states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka spent Rs 220 crores (US $50 mn) on the Veerapan manhunt.

The Hunt For Veerappan documentary may not have captured all the incidents. Still, it has shared a captivating story of this forest fugitive through interviews with stakeholders who were part of those missions.

The makers have not recreated any scenes; they have used all the historical footage from the news channels, pictures, and recordings. What also makes The Hunt For Veerappan documentary fascinating is the background music, forest shots, and screenplay.

Veerappan might be from India, but this man’s story will always be remembered whenever we speak about forest conservation anywhere in the world.

Trailer of Hunt For Veerappan: