The Hunt for Veerappan (2023) s01e03 Episode Script

1
[water dripping]
[somber music playing]
[Muthulakshmi in Tamil]
Karnataka police hit me with lathis.
They broke both my knees.
They tied my hands
and hoisted me up using a pulley.
They gave electric shocks
where a baby drinks milk from.
They made a man give me
electric shocks on my genitals.
I had to crawl on my ass after that.
The news leaked enough
to reach the Tamil Nadu police.
They started enquiring about
what was happening there.
After that, they sent in
two policemen for my protection.
They took me to court.
"Tell the court that you choose
to be with the police."
"If you don't say that,
we will leave you behind in court."
"Karnataka police will take you back."
"They will take you and do anything
they wish. We aren't responsible."
I told the police everything.
"We stayed in this place at this time."
"When this incident happened,
the gang was here."
What could I do?
They asked me to talk and I had to speak.
[somber music continues]
One day, my mother and my sister
came with my elder daughter to meet me.
She didn't know that I was her mother.
I asked her if she wanted
to have a bath. She said yes.
I took her to the bathroom
and gave her a bath.
Because she'd played in the mud that day,
her hair was full of mud.
[voice breaking]
I felt so bad when I saw her.
[sniffles]
[sobbing softly]
I wanted to be with my husband,
but I decided to live with my children.
[Sunaad in English]
What defines this entire story
is the psyche of the man himself.
I'm convinced that his brain ticked
in a completely different manner
compared to any other human being
that one could imagine.
The strength of his gang had dwindled.
Most of his associates had been
either arrested or gunned down.
He stopped the cycle
of violence and absolute mayhem.
All was quiet.
And that caused a lot of anxiety.
That caused a lot of tension.
[distant birds chirping]
[K Arkesh] That period of over two years
of silence of Veerappan
was always interpreted
as a lull before storm.
He's planning something big.
And for that he's preparing.
In one of his camps,
we recovered the translated versions
of Che Guevara's literature.
So we knew a negotiation
was going on between Veerappan
and a militant group.
[suspenseful music playing]
[water rushing]
[ex-militant in Tamil] When a government
and state media brands someone a criminal,
one needs to look carefully
into the reasons
for such crimes to happen.
Was he a criminal by nature
or was he made into one?
In Tamil Nadu, Veerappan was known
as a brave man, a daredevil, a wizard.
A man who fought against injustice,
but we could understand better
when we met him.
When we met Veerappan for the first time,
he felt sad that he couldn't do anything
for the innocent lives that were affected,
and we wanted to give him
some guidance.
We had an organization,
a code, a philosophy.
The Tamil Nadu Liberation Army.
The rights of Tamil people, our language,
our culture and our land
were being exploited.
Tamil Nadu Liberation Army fought
for a solution to all these issues.
We had some political needs too.
We believed Veerappan's forests could be
the backbone
for our movement's operations.
Veerappan was interested
and inspired by the idea.
[gripping music playing]
We educated him about the history
of several revolutionary movements
and the leaders who led them,
and gave him some books.
Prabhakaran's life history,
his fight for a Tamil Nation Eelam
Che Guevara's history.
Fidel Castro, Karl Marx, Lenin,
Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh.
"You should turn into
a leader like them."
He became a changed man.
He wanted to stop all the activities
he had done in his life,
and do something new,
something revolutionary.
[K Arkesh in English]
We got credible information that he said,
"I will get one man."
"And if I get him,
the Chief Ministers of both the states"
He meant Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
"will come on their knees to me."
I told the senior officer,
"Sir, I have all the reasons to believe
that he is planning to kidnap
a very important person."
He laughed. He said, "Let him kidnap."
He was so very complacent,
light and careless.
He said, "Let him kidnap."
"The government will
come to know the importance of STF."
[Sunaad] On the night
of the 30th of July, 2000,
Rajkumar had had
his dinner along with his wife,
and was just about getting ready
to call it a day.
When in walked Veerappan.
With a gun slung across his shoulder.
Whoever was present there
were stunned into absolute silence.
[animal howls]
[Sunaad] And within no time,
Veerappan with
his most prized catch, Rajkumar,
melted into the darkness
that lay beyond the house.
[suspenseful music playing]
[distant sirens wailing]
[S.M. Krishna in Kannada]
Last night, around 9:30 p.m.,
Dr. Rajkumar,
post his dinner,
Veerappan and his gang
rounded the farmhouse
[male reporter in English]
The Chief Minister announced
that on Sunday night at 9:30 p.m.,
Dr. Rajkumar and three of his associates,
Mr. S.A. Govindaraj,
Mr. Nagesh and Mr. Nagappa
were kidnapped
from their farmhouse in Tamil Nadu.
[clock ticking]
[Sunaad] Back in Bangalore, the capital
city of the state of Karnataka,
news was spreading like wildfire.
Cellular phones and landlines were jammed
for close to two to three hours.
And people
were completely stranded at airports
and railway stations and bus stations
because the whole city
came to a standstill.
We were faced with
one of the most shocking developments
in the history of Karnataka.
Because such was the man, Rajkumar
Karnataka cinema's greatest icon.
[captivating instrumental music playing]
A man who was loved,
respected,
emulated,
and celebrated for decades.
A movie star who was deified
by every citizen of Karnataka.
[male reporter] An artist of rare value.
A person of rare discipline.
A man of rare disposition.
This is Rajkumar.
As a saint,
or as a romantic hero,
he is unparalleled.
[Sunaad] The characters that he essayed
[in Kannada] Mother.
[Sunaad in English]
the roles that he played,
were so full of decency and honesty.
He was a cultural ambassador of Karnataka.
Known for his moral probity
both on and off the screen.
The release
of a Rajkumar film in Karnataka
was a moment
of absolute rejoicing and celebration.
Clamoring for tickets.
The atmosphere in front of the theaters.
The huge crowds milling around.
And the sheer indescribable joy
of finally getting into the theaters,
and taking your seat,
and having Rajkumar come alive on screen.
[captivating music builds up and fades]
To think such a man
was a hapless, helpless victim
of a diabolical,
Tamil-speaking brigand like Veerappan
was simply unacceptable
to every single person in Karnataka.
[suspenseful music playing]
[K Arkesh] The first sentence
the Chief Minister said to me is,
"Mr. Arkesh, what is the way out?"
I could see on his face
a great amount of pain.
I suggested to him that,
with the help of NSG commandos,
National Security Guard commandos,
I can carry out this surgical strike
and get Rajkumar released.
He said, "Tell me honestly,
what is the risk involved
to the life of Mr. Rajkumar?"
I said, "With whatever precaution
that we take,
at least 20% risk is involved
to his life in this operation."
He said,
"I can't even take 1% risk
with the life of Rajkumar."
-[siren wailing]
-[people clamoring]
[female reporter 1] Veerappan carries out
his most daring hostage drama.
The state of Karnataka is up in flames
as protests break out.
The air was bristling with hostility.
[indistinct chanting of slogans]
[female reporter 1] There is
no getting away from the fact
that it's the lack of political will
on both sides of the border
that has resulted
in this present hostage crisis.
[Sunaad] The state administration,
the police department, the government,
they were all at sea.
[S.M. Krishna] As of now,
government has its own strategy.
Government has, uh,
worked out some kind of a strategy
They were absolutely clueless
as to what step they should be taking.
[people clamoring]
[female reporter 2] Numerous incidents
of violence have already broken out.
Amidst the tension,
educational institutions
have declared a holiday.
Both the governments,
they should take immediate action.
They should be released immediately.
So, the government began
to tread very cautiously.
And the first thing that it did
was to pull back the STF from the area.
[tense music playing]
[female reporter 3] All operations for
nabbing Veerappan have been called off.
[Sunaad] Now Veerappan had the upper hand.
He started calling the shots.
And he demanded that
an emissary be sent to him immediately.
S.M. Krishna, the Chief Minister
of Karnataka at that time,
flew to Chennai,
the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu,
to meet up with
the Chief Minister Karunanidhi there.
I have come here with a special request
to the honorable Chief Minister
to send the emissary on our behalf.
And to find out what he wants.
[female reporter 4] News coming in
from Chennai that RR Gopal,
the editor of the magazine Nakkheeran
has been chosen
as the emissary to meet Veerappan.
[imperceptible]
[Sunaad] Nakkheeran Gopal had
a kind of familiarity with Veerappan.
He had negotiated
the release of nine foresters
who had been abducted
by Veerappan a few years earlier.
[in Tamil] We've presented you
with a 100% success rate.
I am not trying to boast about it.
[Sunaad in English]
A man like Nakkheeran Gopal
would definitely put some sense
into Veerappan's head
and convince him that Rajkumar
was too big a personality
to be trifled with.
-[suspenseful music playing]
-[insects chirping]
[Nagesh in Kannada] It felt like we were
sheep being dragged by the noose.
Holding Rajkumar at gunpoint,
Veerappan said if someone made a sound,
he'd shoot Rajkumar.
We were terrified.
That time Rajkumar asked,
"You wanted Rajkumar, right?"
"I'll stay, let these three men go."
"Shoot me if you want."
As I had understood it,
Veerappan was a very evil man,
a murderer.
We didn't get much sleep
because of the fear
that he would do something at any time.
At night, he used to listen to news
BBC News
He never missed a single piece of news.
It was announced that
Nakkheeran would be coming.
[clock ticking]
[female reporter in English]
Chief Minister of Karnataka,
S.M. Krishna, confirmed
that Gopal, Editor of Tamil magazine
has left on his mission.
[in Tamil] Government has decided
to negotiate with Veerappan
to rescue Rajkumar
and they have decided to send
our magazine team as the emissaries.
It was raining heavily.
[in Kannada]
We were scared all 24 hours of the day.
Lightning strikes.
Rain.
There were thousands of elephants.
Tigers, cheetahs.
[insects chirping]
[Sunaad in English] How would Rajkumar
survive in the dense inhospitable terrain?
He was ageing. He was 71 years old.
How will he be able to weather the cold?
[Sivasubramanian in Tamil]
It was 15 kilometers inside the forest.
Veerappan was not very casual
with us like before.
He was very obstinate.
I spoke to Rajkumar and asked
how Veerappan was treating him.
Rajkumar said, "Veerappan behaves
like a small child,
and we are kinda friends now."
I asked him, "How?"
He said, "It was raining heavily
on the day I was kidnapped."
"On our way, from one hill
to another, we crossed a stream."
-[mellow music playing]
-[frogs croaking]
"Hundreds of frogs
started croaking together in unison."
"It was so idyllic to the ears.
Suddenly they would all stop croaking."
"And then one single frog would
start again [mimics frogs croaking]
and all the other frogs would follow."
"One after the other.
All the frogs in unison again."
"Then suddenly stop."
"Listening to the song of those frogs,
I felt that the natural music
was more mesmerizing than any symphony."
"Veerappan sat with me
and we listened to it for three hours."
"I have never had
such a great experience in my life
and it gave me immense pleasure."
[gripping music playing]
The next morning,
Veerappan placed ten demands
for releasing Rajkumar.
I rushed back with great confusion.
[K Arkesh in English]
Earlier when Veerappan had kidnapped,
he kidnapped forest officials,
he kidnapped photographers and tourists,
thinking that they are important people
and realized that their kidnap
yielded him no results.
Because they were very ordinary people.
But with Rajkumar,
Veerappan knew the state Chiefs
will come on their knees.
[people cheering]
[female reporter]
The brigand has made demands
and has set a deadline
for the 19th of this month.
The demands include,
adequate compensation to Tamil victims
of the 1991 Cauvery Riots,
fix minimum wages
for coffee and tea plantation workers,
and inauguration of the statue
of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar
in Bangalore.
[Sunaad] Most of the demands put forward
had an activist tinge to them.
There was a very seriously inclined
Tamil angle to it.
And that was a little irritating.
He has struggled for Kannada,
and he's suffering there.
Can't we give our lives to him?
Ask us to go to the forest
and kill Veerappan.
If things doesn't come properly in a way
within a day or two, anything can happen.
-[sirens wailing]
-[people clamoring]
[Sunaad] There has always been
a very simmering tension
between the peoples
of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
for hundreds of years,
which was accentuated and exacerbated
by certain political posturings
on both sides.
So the issue always existed.
And it was very clear
that there was a group of people
who were using Veerappan
as their pro-Tamil mouthpiece.
This was, uh,
getting to become a little complicated.
[guns firing]
[Maaran in Tamil] When I was in school,
we used to hear about the ethnic cleansing
against Tamils in Sri Lanka in 1983.
This had a widespread impact
across Tamil Nadu.
If we want a solution
to all these problems,
we will be able to achieve it
through an independent,
sovereign Tamil nation.
I cannot go deeper into it,
that's why I am
just brushing over the details.
Because if I go into the details,
uh, it will become
my confession statement.
[foreboding music playing]
[clock ticking]
[in English] It remains to be seen
how soon Dr. Rajkumar
and three other hostages
would be released by Veerappan.
The hostage crisis
continues with both the governments
of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
refusing to change the strategy
and deciding to send
Nakkheeran editor RR Gopal
on a fourth mission
to the Sathyamangalam forest.
[female journalist]
What is our government doing?
How can they permit this
to go on and on like this?
We used to wait endlessly for information.
And then Gopal would come, and he
would have this big press conference.
And the entire media would be there.
[imperceptible]
Big story. You can't miss it.
Now he was a journalist
like the rest of us.
He had his own magazine.
But he shot to fame.
[imperceptible]
He deserves all credit for taking a risk,
personal risk, personal safety.
But why is it taking so long?
Simple question.
[clock ticking]
[female reporter] It is nearly 50 days
since Dr. Rajkumar
and three others were kidnapped
by forest brigand Veerappan.
FOR THE RELEASE OF DR. RAJ
LET THE CENTRAL GOVT. INTERVENE
[Nakkheeran Gopal in Tamil] We wanted
to bring Rajkumar back at any cost.
So we made Veerappan lower his demands
and brought him down here,
and we negotiated with the government
and got them both on the same page.
I tried my best to explain to him.
[suspenseful music playing]
[statesman] It is Tamil people's issue.
There is high tension
in the border for the Tamil people.
It reminded us of the riots that happened
in 1992 for the Cauvery River.
[people clamoring]
Tamil people were attacked
and their properties were burnt.
What will happen to the Tamilians
if something happens to Rajkumar?
Two months passed by this way.
I felt like something had to be done.
The higher officials asked me,
"Can you help us in any way
in bringing back Rajkumar?"
[Sunaad in English] Kolathur Mani was
a very powerful man in Tamil Nadu.
He was a big-time landlord.
And a very important Tamil politician.
[Sivasubramanian in Tamil]
From 1983 to 1986,
LTTE personnel were trained
in his hometown Kolathur.
Many important leaders
in LTTE were trained in his fields.
Such was the respect and aura he carried.
We were advised that Kolathur Mani
will be able to convince Veerappan
in issues that we couldn't.
We were advised to take Kolathur Mani in.
[Kolathur Mani] Before we went in,
we had received a news.
Rajkumar had stopped
taking his medications.
What if something happens to a hostage?
That was our biggest fear.
Each day, we'd explain
the extent to which the demands
can be met by the government.
They would all sit together
and discuss for hours.
Sometimes it took six hours
to explain things to them.
I told Veerappan and gang,
"Come up with your decisions soon."
"All your requests
are related to helping Tamil people."
"Even if something happens
to Rajkumar here naturally,
imagine the plight of the Tamil people."
Veerappan asked,
"What do you think we should do?"
"Avoid insisting on unachievable demands."
[S.M. Krishna in English]
Veerappan has said that we should go
to the International Court of Justice
for settling the Cauvery dispute.
We have said no!
Veerappan said that Tamil should be
the second language of Karnataka.
We have said no!
[Sunaad] The fact was
the demands were absolutely preposterous
and quite ridiculous.
None of these demands
could be met by the government.
Legally, or even realistically.
Except for one demand.
[suspenseful music playing]
[whistle blowing]
[male lawyer] What I'm telling you
is not a fiction.
Not a story.
It is a fact.
Here, interested party was Shankar Bidari.
[suspenseful music continues]
The whole situation after Shankar Bidari
entered into the picture
in February 1993 was a terror.
Hundreds of accused were arrested
on the allegation
that they are supporting Veerappan.
Wives, sisters, brothers, uncle, everyone.
Were they carrying guns?
Were they participating in any crime?
No evidence at all!
Except their confession statement,
written by the police
and signed by Shankar Bidari.
He got the permission
to invoke the provisions of TADA.
Terrorist and Disruptive Activities
Prevention Act.
TADA act.
This is a draconian law
only to handle the terrorists
with an intent to overawe
the established government.
Unfortunately, it was clamped
on these village people. [chuckles]
TADA!
The helplessness of them
Real helplessness.
All these people
were languishing in the jail.
No hopes of completing trial
in the near future.
Keeping them in jail for ten years.
But when Rajkumar was kidnapped,
Veerappan put one of the demand
that, "All the innocent people
who are languishing in jail in my name
must be released."
And look at the fate.
All of a sudden,
government has become very active.
They were exploring how these persons
can be released from the jail.
[Sunaad] It was very clear that
the Karnataka Government
was falling backwards
to get out of this mess.
They wouldn't have cared less
if even the detainees had been released.
So Veerappan made this demand,
and the government said, "Yes."
[S.M. Krishna] Both the governments
have agreed to pursue
the detainees' release on bail.
[camera shutter clicking]
[indistinct chatter]
[man] If this demand
is met by the government,
Rajkumar may be released in a day or two.
[indistinct chatter]
[Sunaad] Everybody connected
with the Rajkumar kidnap.
They were all absolutely excited,
and happy, and relieved
that Rajkumar would walk out free.
Tomorrow he'll be released. Tomorrow.
Mysore people is very happy.
-[mellow music playing]
-[indistinct chatter]
[Nagesh in Kannada] We were happy when
the news of their release first came out.
All the men with Veerappan told us
that we were being released the next day.
That they would send Nakkheeran
and we would be let go.
They said, "We don't have more problems."
"We don't have any other demands."
"That was the only main demand."
-[leaves rustling]
-[birds chirping]
That day, everyone was happy
and in a jolly mood.
We thought, "Oh, this problem is ending."
"We'll finally go back.
There won't be any problems anymore."
[in Tamil] They were happy that they are
going to be released in a day or two.
Veerappan too was happy.
[Nagesh in Kannada]
Veerappan brought some water in a plate.
He brought some sugar and leaves.
And squeezed out its juice.
When few drops of juice fell on the plate,
it became like a cake in ten minutes.
They had discovered
miraculous things in the forest.
[mellow music continues]
[Maaran in Tamil]
I can never forget that day.
He must have stood
at heights of righteous thought.
It was a rare and precious moment.
[in Kannada] Veerappan never slept
next to the people he had kidnapped.
But he started sleeping next to us.
[mellow music continues]
[Venugopal in Hindi]
But here is a twist in the tale.
[in English] One Shri Abdul Karim
whose son was Shakeel Ahmed,
the Sub Inspector of MM Hills police,
all of a sudden,
went to Supreme Court, filed an appeal,
"I lost my son
because of these accused persons."
"Withdrawal of TADA
just to get Rajkumar released?"
"This method of
the government is illegal act."
"So it must be quashed
and immediately must be stayed."
[tense music playing]
[male lawyer] The withdrawal
of the cases from the offenders
was being made under the pressure
of a brigand, a rogue, a dacoit.
Such things
will not be allowed in this country.
[Nagesh in Kannada]
TADA prisoners have been locked.
The Supreme Court has ordered
that they won't be released.
They won't be released.
[man in English] They are impatient,
what do you have to say
to the people of Karnataka?
People of Karnataka
are losing faith, they're losing hope.
Now we want
What is the total outcome of this meeting?
[camera shutters clicking]
[indistinct chatter]
[tense music continues]
[Nagesh in Kannada]
His behavior changed completely.
He couldn't control his anger then.
However happy he had been,
his demeanor changed that much.
He stood up immediately.
"Doesn't it matter
if something happens to Rajkumar?"
He had never said such words until then.
His whole gang started saying,
"Shoot one of them."
"Like the Taliban hijacked flights."
"Let's do something similar to that."
"Let's shoot one of the four
and send them."
[K Arkesh in English]
Nagappa was a hostage with Dr. Rajkumar.
When Veerappan said,
"The government will listen only
when I kill one among the captives,"
Nagappa heard this.
He calculated
who that one person could be.
It's not Rajkumar.
It is not his son-in-law.
And the least important person
in the whole hierarchy was Nagappa.
So Nagappa
was preparing himself for death.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Nagesh in Kannada] Everyone was asleep.
There was always a sickle lying around.
Nagappa picked that up.
He walked past Rajkumar and everyone else.
[distant animals screeching]
He walked inside the tent
and raised the sickle to attack.
He swung the sickle at Veerappan.
Veerappan caught him.
We woke up.
It was so dark we couldn't see anything.
[in Tamil] Veerappan saw the gashes
on his hand, he got furious.
He immediately asked them
to tie up Nagappa.
[Nagesh in Kannada]
Nagappa started yelling.
Veerappan said, "Don't scream."
Nobody had hit Veerappan
or made him bleed ever in his entire life.
[Kolathur Mani in Tamil]
Veerappan was yelling
that he should not have treated them well
and killed them all long back.
[Nagesh in Kannada] At that time,
Nagappa's hands were tied
and he kept crying for water.
Nakkheeran untied the knots.
He untied them as we were watching.
[Kolathur Mani in Tamil] From the top
of the hill, he could spot a town.
He followed those lights
until he reached the roads.
This is how Nagappa escaped.
[in Kannada] I thought
we are doomed.
Bring him here. This side.
Immediately, here.
[indistinct chatter]
[camera shutters clicking]
[officer in English] He is reported
to have assaulted Veerappan with a sickle.
If his statement that
he has attacked Veerappan is true,
then I should think that the problem
has become slightly complicated.
[K Arkesh] Rajkumar's family members
were very unhappy.
They thought Nagappa came back running,
putting the life of Rajkumar
into a great danger.
[Sivasubramanian in Tamil]
We can never predict Veerappan's mindset.
We told the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister,
"The situation is very tense."
"He is someone who is capable
of killing people without thinking much."
"So please expedite the process."
[clock ticking]
[foreboding music playing]
[Sunaad in English] Nagappa's escape
from the clutches of Veerappan
was a very bad development.
Veerappan had to be placated.
Air had to be cleared.
There was no news forthcoming
from the jungle.
There was an eerie lull.
And then Veerappan demanded
for the most high profile
Tamil nationalist Nedumaran
to be his new emissary.
[male reporter]
The Rajkumar hostage crisis
has brought this former Congress man
and Tamil separatist leader
into the spotlight.
The politician may now
enjoy his moment in the sun,
but whether he'll be able
to achieve the tall order
will be put to the test in time to come.
[in Tamil] Sivasubramanian and I
went there on motorcycles.
Nedumaran went in his own Sumo car.
His car had a sticker
that said "Tamil Chariot."
When they saw Nedumaran,
Rajkumar had a big boost of confidence.
Nedumaran sir dealt
the discussion very well.
I was able to see his political expertise.
Nedumaran said something.
"A free Tamil nation is everyone's dream."
"No disagreements there."
"But you cannot achieve it
with a single kidnapping."
[pensive music playing]
"You expected too much."
"On the brighter side,
these demands are now famous."
"Nobody was talking about the demands,
but now they will talk about it
and write about it."
Nedumaran said, "That is a small victory,
but don't expect
all your demands to be met."
He convinced all of them.
And they all got convinced.
Veerappan then took me aside
to speak with me privately.
That is when he told me about
the ransom they had gotten already.
[Sivasubramanian] When we would come out
of the Secretariat Office,
the reporters would ask us,
"How much money did Veerappan ask for?"
We lied, saying we wouldn't have
gotten involved if it was about money.
Along with the ten demands,
Veerappan also made
another eleventh demand.
"I need 1000 crores," said Veerappan.
We weren't able to imagine 1000 crores.
He gave a very simple explanation for it.
He said, "I only need 100 crores in cash.
Give me gold bars for the rest."
He even said those gold bars
should be molten together
into a huge ball
and brought to him in a truck.
After negotiation,
he came down to 100 crores.
We said, "100 crores
is not possible at all."
[camera shutter clicking]
[female reporter in English] Reports
coming in indicate that crores of rupees
allegedly exchanged hands as ransom.
A charge that Karnataka, Tamil Nadu,
and Rajkumar's family have denied.
Untrue.
I would like to make this very clear.
[Kolathur Mani in Tamil]
I heard the amount was ten crores.
[in English] It's unfortunate
the state had to indulge
in that kind of a situation.
A sovereign state,
uh, indulging in this kind
of a money deal with a brigand.
It's a very, very painful thing.
Ultimately it was money which mattered.
No cause for Tamil mattered.
What ultimately mattered was money.
The money spoke.
[in Tamil] I read in the newspaper
that Veerappan
had so many demands.
His wife was in police custody.
He did not place a demand
for the government
to show his wife and child.
If he had made that demand,
it would have happened.
-[wind whistling]
-[bells jingling]
For about eight years,
I was in police custody.
I knew no one else apart from them.
I knew no one. I couldn't go anywhere.
I couldn't go talk to anyone.
There was no other way,
but to ask for their help.
For eight years I was holding this hope
that my husband will not let go of me.
I thought he would have found my parents
and asked where I was, what I was doing.
My mother said,
"No, dear. He didn't come."
"He never came asking about you."
He was angry
and hell-bent on not seeing me.
He thought that I was with the police.
He had a deep-rooted notion that his wife
had turned into a friend of the police.
The Tamil nationalists,
they tried to reason with him.
"The fault is not hers."
"She is facing
the punishment for your actions."
"You have to change your mind."
"Call her and talk to her."
Only after that, he decided to meet us.
[insects chirping]
Our daughter and I
were standing a few feet away.
[chuckling] Vidhya got scared
seeing her father's mustache.
She never went close.
It was dark and there was no visibility.
As soon as she saw him, she got so scared.
-[solemn music playing]
-[fire crackling]
A bonfire was lit
at the base of the hills.
Finally, he spoke to me
when he offered a biscuit.
He gave one to me and the kid.
"You took the side of the police, right?"
I said, "You have misunderstood me."
"I will never backstab you."
I told him, crying.
"It has been so many years,
you didn't bother about me."
"You didn't bother to check on me."
"You didn't care about me."
"Did you even think about it?"
He felt very bad after that.
The next morning, Vidhya was
still hesitating to go near him.
But she was very eager to talk to him.
That is the first time
she called her father, "Father."
We sat around him as he was speaking.
Our daughter went and slept on his lap.
That seemed to have touched him.
That is when he felt love
towards his child.
He realized that he had made a mistake.
[solemn music continues]
[Maaran] These meetings changed his mind
and created new thoughts in him.
He openly shared some information with me.
"I want a quiet
and peaceful life with my family."
These sorts of thoughts will be a setback
in the life of a revolutionary fighter.
That change of mind forced us
to end our relationship with him.
He clenched his hands to convey
the difficult situation he was in.
It felt like he was crushing my heart.
I felt like I was deserting him,
and wondered how his life would turn out.
A great fighter,
the one who voiced out loud for the rights
and the one who protected the borders.
Did the society just lose
one of its bravest warriors?
It was a very sad and depressing day.
We found something different
about Rajkumar.
But couldn't put a finger on what it was.
That's when Veerappan told us about
the hair dye he had prepared for Rajkumar.
He wanted Rajkumar to look like
a bridegroom when he's released.
Rajkumar put a pendant on Veerappan.
"No harm shall fall upon you," he said,
and put sacred ash
on Veerappan's forehead.
[chuckling] They both hugged
and cried after that.
[pleasant music playing]
[Nagesh in Kannada] As soon
as we came back, it felt like heaven.
"Did we come back?"
"What happened there?
Did we really come back?"
All we had in mind was,
"Have we come back?"
I can never forget that time.
[S.M. Krishna] Now a little while ago,
Tamil Nadu's Chief Minister informed me
that Dr. Rajkumar and Nagesh
-were set free from the abductors.
-[people banging on tables]
-[pleasant music continues]
-[people cheering]
[Sunaad in English] The long-awaited day
of Rajkumar's release dawned on us.
[crowd cheering]
It was the most ecstatic
and celebratory event in recent times.
Rajkumar was finally back
on Karnataka's soil.
And all was well.
[pleasant music continues]
[people cheering]
[imperceptible]
[Interviewer] And what happened
to Veerappan?
[Sunaad] He escaped like he always would
into the depths of some unknown jungle.
And there was
a sense of fatigue in all this.
For the government,
the STF,
the whole of India.
The entire might
of the state administration
was hell-bent on putting an end
to Veerappan and his regime.
[foreboding music playing]
They would move heaven and earth
to see Veerappan's end.
[gun cocks]
[mellow music playing]
[Veerappan over recording in Tamil]
Well [clears throat] To my dear wife,
filled with love and affection.
I heard the cassette you sent me.
Whenever you send me cassettes,
if you are sending
multiple cassettes for example,
label them as one, two, three, etc.
The cassettes you sent now
weren't numbered,
so I listened to it
in the wrong order and got confused.
Don't do that.
I have labelled the cassette
to be given to you as "Mu."
"Mu" for Muthu, your name.
It is meant for you.
Muthu, this is for you.
What you said is right.
No questions about that.
Don't be disappointed with me.
I live and earn only for you
and my two darling daughters.
What will I do with the money
if not provide for you?
Our Vidhya had also spoken in it.
She'd said she was eager to meet me.
I am so eager to see my daughter.
I am hoping we see the day
where our kids drive us around in our car.
And both of us should sit in the backseat.
And our enemies should see it.
That is my wish.
I've weighed the entire world.
I just happen to be in the forest today.
But please be careful.
The demon bastards
will keep a closer watch on you.
We aren't idling here. We are doing
all the necessary work required.
I am putting together the weapons
and men needed for it.
I've been eagerly waiting
for some bigger weapons.
We will soon leave the country.
It will happen soon.
The plan is in motion for that.