Overview
- In a new interview with Siddharth Kannan, Ram Gopal Varma says he narrated Company to Shah Rukh Khan, who showed interest, but he reconsidered after meeting him once.
- Varma explains that Malik required a laid‑back, cold‑minded presence and argues Khan’s naturally energetic screen persona would have worked against the role.
- He says he left Khan’s home, called Ajay Devgn the same day, and finalized him for Malik on the spot.
- Abhishek Bachchan was Varma’s first choice for Chandrakant ‘Chandru’ Nagre, but his unavailability led to casting newcomer Vivek Oberoi.
- Released in 2002, Company was written by Jaideep Sahni, marked Mohanlal’s Hindi debut, and earned about ₹25.02 crore on a ₹9.5 crore budget as the trilogy’s second entry.