- Director: Sharath Jothi
- Cast: Mahe Thangam, Nakkeeran Gopal, Pa Pa Mohan, DGP Retd. Alexander IPS, N. Ram, Seeman, Jeeva Thangavel, Rohini
- Platform: ZEE5
- Duration: 6 episodes, 4 hours 16 minutes
Synopsis
The documentary series “Koosu Munisamy Veerappan” starts with Gopal, the editor of Nakkeeran Investigation magazine, saying, “A murderer should not be called a hero. But Veerappan is a hero.” The series explores Veerappan’s life, his supporters, his strength as a forest king, and his downfall, all based on Veerappan’s confession. The series raises questions about whether he is a hero or a murderer.
About the Story
The stories of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan have been a recurring theme in the cinema world. Various perspectives, including Veerappan’s, the police’s, and journalists, have been explored. However, the web series “Koosa Munusamy Veerappan,” available on Zee5, stands out for narrating the story directly from Veerappan’s recorded interviews between 1993 and 1996, conducted by Nakkeeran.
Episode 1 – First Blood
The first episode, titled “First Blood,” explores Veerappan’s childhood, family, hill village, and forest laws affecting tribals, tribal livelihood, culture, and food. It narrates how a hunting gun comes into Veerappan’s possession and how it is used to fulfill the desires of those in power. The episode introduces Veerappan on screen for the first time, sharing his story and providing the audience with a new experience. It emphatically documents that Veerappan’s initial killing was driven by political motives.
Episode 2 – Into the Wild
The second episode’s title is “Into the Wild”. It describes Veerappan’s transformation from a hunter to an ivory smuggler and a sandalwood smuggling kingpin. It also covers the arrival and activities of DFO Srinivasan, who was beheaded and killed. From this point, the series presents a different perspective on the Veerappan stories that have circulated. This episode addresses questions such as why Veerappan killed Srinivasan, who is revered as Sami in the temple in those hilly villages, and whether Srinivasan was good or bad.
Episode 3 – Bait Worms
The third episode titled “Bait Worms” deals with the anarchy of a Tamil Nadu police officer named Gopala Krishnan in the hill villages and the subsequent killing of 22 policemen by Veerappan. Veerappan names Gopala Krishna a ‘goat thief’.
Episode 4 – The Hunt for?
The fourth episode, titled “The Hunt for?”, breaks away from Veerappan and government voices. It focuses on the mistreatment of innocent hill villagers by the forest department and police of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. This cruelty is compared to ‘Nazi concentration camps.’ The episode reveals the harsh reality of the state’s armed forces, shocking the audience. Edu presents the findings of the ‘Satashivam Inquiry Commission,’ which investigated torture in workshops like those in Matheswaran Hill. It explores the commission’s report and the political motivations behind it.
Episode 5 – The War
The fifth episode titled “The War” tells the story of an innocent villager who gets caught between the police and forest department and Veerappan and gets killed. The episode shows Veerappan killing those who betray Veerappan and his associates and Veerappan’s ‘explanation’.
Episode 6 – The Beginning
The final episode, “The Beginning”, covers Veerappan’s political speeches and their impact on elections. It highlights Veerappan’s strong criticism of former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and his opinions on Tamil Nadu political parties. His advice to Rajini might set a trend in movies. The sequence concludes with Veerappan requesting amnesty from the DMK government at one point. They end it with a teaser for Season 2. Let’s see the teaser of Season 2.
The series has been technically perfected by the efforts of cinematographer Ram Kumar PM and cinematographer Ram Pandian. Importantly, the editor has kept most of the scenes alive with perfect ‘cuts’ without dragging them beyond their limits. A documentary is made interesting without imposing any weight on the audience. The screenplay of the series has been given by Jayachandra Hashmi, Sharath Jothi, and Vasanth Balakrishnan, despite the complex stories and information being compiled. It has been brilliantly adapted into a series by a ‘creative team’ comprising Jayachandra Hashmi, Prabhavathy RP, and Vasanth Balakrishnan. Kudos to the director Sharath Jothiwho has managed all this well.
The series, which initially moves in favor of him and defends his confession, in the latter half questions and criticizes him harshly. Nakeeran Gopal, senior advocate PA Mohan, former editor of The Hindu newspaper N. Ram, Naam Tamilar Party chief coordinator Seeman, journalist Jeeva Thangavelu, lawyer Tamayanthi, screen artist and social activist Rohini, retired DGP Alexander IPS, Nakeeran’s former The information and views of the reporters have helped in this.
Throughout the series, scenes about the Karnataka Police and Forest Department keep coming. But no one from the party was made to speak to record their point of view. Also, at many points throughout the series, former and current journalists of Nakiran Magazine are speaking. Hence, their interpretations of some of Veerappan’s words and stories are conveyed to the audience as meaning. The ‘illustrated scenes’ are hand-biting in some places. Even after conveying the meaning of speech, extra attention may have been paid to the ‘CGs’ which are lingering in some places.
Apart from whether the stories, explanations, and allegations made by Veerappan are fiction or true, there is no doubt that his explanations should be recorded in society. But since this first season only records his life till 1996, what the series is fully telling and whose side he is on will be known only after the second season.
Koose Munisamy Veerappan
Director: Sharath Jothi
4.7
