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Did you know Shah Rukh Khan was Ram Gopal Varma's first choice for Company, not Ajay Devgn? He didn't pursue him for THIS reason
Ram Gopal Varma recently revealed that he initially wanted to cast Shah Rukh Khan for Ajay Devgn's role in Company. RGV didn't choose SRK as he believes that the superstar is quite "hyper" on screen.
Ram Gopal Varma has directed several films in his illustrious career in the Indian film industry, including Satya, Company, Bhoot, Sarkar, and Rakhtcharitra. The filmmaker has worked with actors like Manoj Bajpayee, Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, Amitabh Bachchan, Manisha Koirala, and Urmila Matondkar, to name a few.
Do you know that Ram Gopal Varma once wanted to direct Shah Rukh Khan for his movie? It was none other than for his 2002 film Company; however, things didn't work out.
Ram Gopal Varma approached SRK for Ajay Devgn's role in Company
In a video on his YouTube channel, Ram Gopal Varma revealed that Shah Rukh Khan was his initial choice for casting him for the role of N. Malik in the film.
RGV recalled that he was planning to cast Shah Rukh for it. But the director didn't pursue him, thinking that casting the superstar for the gangster's role would look "odd" on screen.
He said, "At one point of time, I wanted Shah Rukh. I met Shah Rukh. He was excited. I thought Shah Rukh is very hyper. That's what people like about him. I thought to make him completely subtle, not moving at all and very silent.
Elaborating on Shah Rukh, the filmmaker shared, "I thought it would look very odd on screen, which is the reason I didn’t pursue (him). I just had one meeting with him."
The Company director felt that his "body language was wrong" for the character in the 2002 film. RGV called Shah Rukh a "performer" while saying he is "hyperactive," and this quality of his endears the audience.
For the uninitiated, Ajay Devgn was eventually chosen to play the main role in RGV's Company.
Abhishek Bachchan was RGV's first choice for Vivek Oberoi's role
Ram Gopal Varma also spilled the beans about approaching Abhishek Bachchan to play the role of Chandrakant Nagre, aka Chandu, in the movie.
RGV shared that Abhishek was his first choice for the role; however, the Yuva actor was busy preparing for 3–4 films and didn't have dates back then. Abhishek Bachchan declined the role in Ram Gopal Varma's 2002 directorial venture. The role was then offered to Vivek Oberoi. Vivek made his debut with the film.
Company is touted as the second film in the Gangster Trilogy in India. It also starred Manisha Koirala, Mohanlal, Antra Mali, and Seema Biswas in crucial roles. The screenplay of this RGV's directorial was penned by Jaideep Sahni.
Company was a sequel to Ram Gopal Varma's directorial, Satya. The 1998 film featured Manoj Bajpayee, Urmila Matondkar, J. D. Chakravarthy, Saurabh Shukla, Paresh Rawal, Aditya Shrivastava, and Govind Namdeo.
Ram Gopal Varma and Shah Rukh Khan's previous collaboration
Coming back to Ram Gopal Varma and Shah Rukh Khan, they collaborated for Mani Ratnam's 1998 film Dil Se. While SRK played a lead role in the movie, RGV co-produced it with Bharat Shah, Mani Ratnam, and Shekhar Kapur.
On the work front, Shah Rukh Khan was last seen in Rajkumar Hirani's directorial film Dunki (2023). SRK was paired with Taapsee Pannu in the movie. SRK will now be seen in a full-fledged actioner titled The King. His daughter, Suhana Khan, is also a part of the upcoming film.
Can you imagine Shah Rukh Khan playing the gangster in Ram Gopal Varma's film?
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