Varma has never seen a guy like Veerappan

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who is ready with his next feature ‘Killing Veerappan’, says he did a thorough research on how the dreaded forest brigand was killed before embarking on the project. “He had no ideology nor was he backed by an organisation. His thought-pattern was similar to that of an animal.

People who stopped him were his enemies and people who supported him were his friends. I’ve never seen a guy like him. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala governments have spent Rs 700 crores to nab him but it took a cop to corner him and kill him. The moment I was narrated what the cop did to kill Veerappan, I wondered whether he could resort to such practices.

But I’ve realised, at times, results are more important than the methods used,” said Varma, adding that the film is not a biopic and that it will open in cinemas on December 4. Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar has played the central role of the officer who kills Veerappan and Sandeep, an aspiring youth from National School of Drama, has enacted Sandalwood smuggler.