Veerappan Hunger for Killing on OTT: AMR Ramesh’s web series on the slain forest brigand set for streaming
Veerappan Hunger for Killing on OTT: Six episodes of the show, staring with the Dr Rajkumar abduction and leading into the early years of the forest brigand have been picked up for streaming
Last Updated: 06.12 PM, May 06, 2025
In September 2021, filmmaker AMR Ramesh had told OTTplay that he’d been shooting for a web series on one of his pet subjects, slain forest brigand Veerappan, a detailed extension of his film Attahasa/Vana Yuddham , that yet again had Kishore reprising the role as the protagonist. Ram Gopal Varma had also made a film on Veerappan, called Killing Veerappan. The plan, Rames h had said, was to make 18-20 episodes to provide an in-depth narrative on the 20-year manhunt for the bandit. Back then, Ramesh had shot footage for about 6 episodes, spanning 4 and a half hours. However, his release plans hit a hurdle, when Veerappan’s widow Muthulakshmi sought a permanent injunction on it, claiming that it portrayed the forest brigand in poor light.
Veerappan: Hunger for Killing headed to Waves OTT
Muthulakshmi, who had dragged Ramesh to court during the release of Attahasa as well and received Rs 25 lakh in compensation, is said to have had no such luck this time around, with the court ruling against her plea. By 2023, Ramesh had begun pitching the show, Veerappan: Hunger for Killing to major OTT platforms, and the latest update is that the first 6 episodes have found a streaming partner. Ramesh has sold his show to Waves OTT, the government-run streaming platform under the Prasar Bharati.
“Waves OTT had invited content submissions last year with a December 2024 deadline and we’d sent Veerappan: Hunger for Killing. It is one of the 33-34 titles that have been selected in the initial phase. We are yet to get a streaming date,” says Ramesh. But what about the rest of the story? “Waves commissions content and I am awaiting word on whether another 12 or 14 episodes will be greenlit as 2 more seasons. The plan was always to make it in 18-20 episodes,” he adds.
The series, meanwhile, features Ramesh’s daughter, who plays a criminal psychology student and her thesis research into Veerappan’s life, beginning with the abduction of Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar from his farmhouse in Gajanur. “It will then go back to Veerappan’s early days and his rise to becoming one of the most dreaded forest brigands of the country.