Director Ram Gopal Varma, whose next is a multilingual film Killing Veerappan, says that a story like the brigand’s does not exist in mankind’s history. “Veerappan has been an intriguing character. And when you include the Special Task Force (STF) operations, it becomes a completely new world. I strongly feel that a similar situation like that of Veerappan does not exist in mankind’s history. If you look at any group with criminal intentions, it is packed with a large group of people. But in Veerappan’s case, nobody could trace him for decades together. He defied three governments (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and even embarrassed elite forces of the country. So many officers died while trying to nab him. Then came Operation Cocoon, which succeeded in making him fall to his death. It required such strong networking, secrecy and strategy. What went behind the operation is something that I have been researching for quite some time,” says Varma.
“There are other films made on Veerappan and I have watched them too. But I don’t want to tell the story of the brigand as an A for Apple story. My take on it is much deeper. There is an emotional aspect that will deeply focus on relationships, egos, etc,” he adds.
The director reveals that he had been following Veerappan for long. “Ten years ago, I wanted to make a small segment, when Veerappan was still not caught, and title it Let’s catch Veerappan. The subject explored the reward announced on Veerappan and revolved around three people who wanted to get that money. I wanted to make a bounty hunting film. But the day we started shooting, Veerappan died and we had to shelve the film,” he said.