The Hunt for Veerappan (2023) S01

The Hunt for Veerappan is a 2023 True Crime docuseries by Netflix.[1][2] Directed by Selvamani Selvaraj and produced by Apoorva Bakshi and Monisha Thyagarajan,[3] the four-part series will explore the untold and unheard stories behind the dreaded Indian bandit turned domestic terrorist Veerappan.

This docuseries follows the rise and fall of Veerappan, a dreaded smuggler whose bloody reign sparked a 20-year-long manhunt in south India. The Hunt for Veerappan mostly received positive reviews from critics.[7][8] Anvita Singh of India Today gave it a rating of 3.5/5 and calls it a “balanced take on Veerappan’s life and death.”[9] Rohan Naahar of The Indian Express also gave it a rating of 3.5/5 and says, “Netflix documentary is engaging, but it comes dangerously close to having sympathy for the devil. Who was Veerappan? A criminal or a rebel? The question haunts the new Netflix docuseries The Hunt for Veerappan, created by Selvamani Selvaraj. Segmented into four episodes, The Hunt for Veerappan looks back at the poacher, who managed to evade and escape the efforts of the police and the special task forces of two states for almost two decades. Facts like Veerappan was the subject of India’s longest and costliest manhunt are thrown in . But it is the politics of disparity and an impossible central relationship that guides this sprawling saga to piece together the phenomenon that was Veerappan. The shift of viewpoint occurs from hereon, as other important perspectives begin to examine the activities of Veerappan. Investigative Journalist Sunaad, then-Karnataka Forest Officer B K Singh, underline the conviction and fearlessness with which Veerappan conducted his poaching activities and helped the impoverished in return – earning the goodwill very soon and becoming the leader. He then turned into a sandalwood smuggler. The threat only begins with his violent and merciless shooting of four police officers and then of Forest Officer Srinivas. Here was a man, who had challenged the entire might of the Police Force. He was ready to take on this fight.