AN OUTLAW, THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

John Muir, the reputed American naturalist and environmental philosopher, apparently said: “The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” Indeed so...unless the forest is the hideout of a notorious bandit like Veerappan (Kishore), in which case (to put it facetiously), the wilderness perhaps turns into a clear path out of the universe.

"ಅಟ್ಟಹಾಸ" ('Aṭṭahāsa') is a 2013 Kannada biopic film, based on the life and times of forest brigand Veerappan– an ivory poacher, sandalwood smuggler, serial kidnapper, extortionist, mass murderer and a numero uno looter of forest wealth. He routinely killed not only police and forest range officers, but also those suspected of being police informers. Veerappan ruled the jungles for over twenty years when efforts to apprehend him were hampered by issues of inter-state law enforcement and judicial administration. The movie was co-released in Tamil as Vana Yuddham.

This 'real-life action thriller' vividly captures on celluloid the crimes of the forest brigand; the conception of “Operation Cocoon” for his entrapment; and, the drama of his encounter in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. The film has gripping and chilling sequences of the cold-blooded killing of DCF Srinivas (Suchendra Prasad); former Karnataka minister H Nagappa (Dinesh Mangalore); and, scores of other officials. It features the Palar blast, near Malai Mahadeswara (MM) Hills, in which 22 members of the Special Task Force were martyred. The kidnap of matinee idol, Rajkumar (Suresh Oberoi) is incorporated into the narrative too.

Director AMR Ramesh's direction is better than his screenplay, which lacks a certain tightness. The creative dramatisation mesmerizes you initially; but, it looses momemtum and maunders monotonously towards the obviously inevitable climax later.

Arjun Sarja and Ravi Kale have done adequate justice to their respective roles as the police officers, Vijayakumar and Kannan. Suresh Oberoi is passable as Rajkumar– his expressions are a tad too plastic; and, eyes too steely...very unlike the soft, tender and graceful persona of the thespian that he has enacted. But, the real show stealer is Kishore, whose looks, speech and actions are perhaps as sinister and menacing as those of the monster he has portrayed.

The cinematography is disappointing; more so, because the flick fails to snag the pristine beauty, picturesque splendour of the evergreen flora at the locales, such as, MM Hills, Satyamangalam and Minchboli forests, where the sequences have been shot. Editing is understandably average, for a laborious screenplay encumbers it. The background score of Sandeep Chowta is alright.

The downside of the film is that it cuts the thug, Veerappan some slack and gives him a larger-than-life image. Neither does it bring to the limelight the political puppeteers of the terrorist. Further, the second half totally ignores the role and contributions of the Karnataka police in bringing Veerappan to book.

Nonetheless, the film is worth a watch!

I rate it 7.0 on 10!