SC paves way for screening of film on Veerappan`s life

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday paved the way for the screening of Tamil film "Vanayuddham" based on the life of sandalwood smuggler Veerappan after the producers agreed to pay Rs 25 lakh as compensation to his wife.

V Muthu Lakshmi, widow of the forest brigand, had filed the petition against the Madras High Court decision allowing the release of the film after the producers had agreed to cut some scenes objected by her. A Bench of Justices T S Thakur and S J Mukhopadhaya passed the order after the producers of the film Akshaya Creations agreed to pay Rs 25 lakh to Veerapan`s wife, who had said release of film will have adverse impact on the family. The film will also be released in Kannada and Telugu versions. Veerappan, who gave challenge for two decades to police force of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, was killed in an encounter in 2004. He was involved in poaching elephants and smuggling sandalwood and ivory and killed several police and forest officials. His gang was also involved in the abduction of noted Kannada movie star Rajkumar, who was held hostage for more than three months. PTI