Vana Yutham said to be based on real life incidents turns out to be a fairly gripping docu drama.
A.M.R. Ramesh who earlier wielded the megaphone for Kuppi (that revolved around Rajiv Gandhi's assassination) has taken the encounter of forest brigand Veerappan as the backdrop of his latest venture. The movie with a running time just short of two hours is fast paced and devoid of any commercial elements.

 
Plot

The movie is actually not a biopic on Veerapan. The major focus of the movie is how the T.N. police force under the helm of Vijayakumar (Arjun) brings down the notorious forest criminal. The first half of the movie is about the rise of Veerappan (Kishore). But one feels that not much is explained here. We have just one or two scenes of Veerappan as the low rung criminal who helps some powerful corrupt people in smuggling elephant tusks. Soon he turns into a one man army who will leave no stone unturned to achieve his means. The second half is all about Vijayakumar and his unique way of planning the downfall of Veerappan.

Cast

The casting of Ramesh is certainly a highpoint.  Kishore and Arjun come up with top notch performances. Kishore's looks and lean frame aid in his portrayal of the forest brigand. Despite having played similar roles in numerous movies it is to Arjun's credit that his portrayal of Vijayakumar is neat and convincing. Ravi Kale and the other support cast also fit the bill.

Crew

There is no major disappointment with Vana Yudham unless you are expecting the story to unfold from Veerappan's point of view. The reason behind many of Veerapan's actions in the first half has not been explained clearly. Kannada matinee idol Rajkumar's kidnap episode is short and seems to end in haste. The voiceover towards the end of the film seems like a documentary explaining the achievements of the State Government. Though the film is obviously dubbed the lip sync is quite tolerable.

Bottomline

Vana Yudham works very well as a fast paced docu drama and should please those who have an appetite for such fares.

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