It is evident from the title that Telugu film Anumanaspadam is a suspense thriller. Set in the wild woods, it is not exactly an edge-of-the-seat thriller but it keeps the audience engrossed. The credit for this goes to director Vamsi.
Based on the life of sandalwood smuggler Veerapan, the film opens with gun shots and police cordoning the area located in a dense forest. There is a body lying on the floor and the protagonist Basavaraju Surya, aka Basu, who is a television reporter, reporting the news. The body in question is that of Veerappan. The scribes pack up and are returning when a person asks them a lift to the city. He is an investigative journalist, who spent nine months in the forest gathering information about the brigand and passing it on to the cops.
According to the script, Veerappan has stashed away his loot in the forest and this man knows the place. However, the van meets with an accident and the journalist hands over the material to Basu. Now, Basu wants to go in search of the loot but needs a team to accompany him.
He enlists the help of his best friend, a landmine detector, bomb diffuser, a doctor, a cook, a guide, a driver and a financier.
This motley group then overcome several obstacles that are miraculously cleared for them, and finally finds the loot.
The film is well structured and maintains the tempo thanks to a combination of a clever story, good direction and scintillating music. Maestro Illayaraja and Vamsi come together after Anveshana. The superbly composed songs add romance to the splendid landscape captured magnificently by cameraman Vinda.
There are quite a few episodes that are very hilarious like the one in a village where the entire men folk sport Veerappan moustaches. The songs are choreographed skillfully and full marks to Vamsi for this.
Convincing performances by the new cast make the film enjoyable.
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