Ram Gopal Varma says Mohanlal’s performance in Company had issues: ‘He wasn’t doing it the right way’

In a recent interview, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma revealed that he initially had issues with Mohanlal’s performance in the 2002 film Company.

Written by S Devasankar , Journalist

Published on Feb 21, 2025 | 04:45 PM IST | 29.5K

Ram Gopal Varma opens up about his issues with Mohanlal’s performance in Company (PC: Pinkvilla/Mohanlal, X)

Ram Gopal Varma is undeniably one of the most impactful filmmakers in the country. Over the course of 36 years, the filmmaker has made some extraordinary films, including Siva, Satya, Company, Sarkar, and many more, and has collaborated with artists like Mohanlal, Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpayee, and others as well.

However, something that caught the eye of fans was that during a recent interview with the YouTube channel Milestone Makers Max, the acclaimed director revealed that he initially had issues with Mohanlal’s performance in the 2002 gangster drama film Company.

Talking to the YouTube channel, Ram Gopal Varma said that he was taken aback by Mohanlal’s attitude while listening to the narration. The filmmaker revealed that he had thought the actor would ask complicated questions regarding the character but was surprised when the only thing he asked was how many days the director required.

RGV further mentioned that this reaction felt anti-climactic, but then he later realized Mohanlal was an ‘instinctive’ actor, which he referred to as a greater act than someone who prepares a lot.

The Sarkar director further mentioned that he initially wasn’t happy with Mohanlal’s performance as IPS Veerappalli Sreenivasan in the film. He recounted that he had made the Drishyam actor give repeated takes as he felt the actor was not giving out what the director had in mind. However, after close to 7 takes, while checking them, RGV revealed he realized that the first take was the best one.

The filmmaker justified this by saying that directors often walk in with a preconceived notion of what they want an actor to do or say and how exactly they want it to be said. Ram Gopal Varma added that it takes the director a few minutes to get out of that mentality and truly appreciate what the actor has to offer.

Company, as mentioned earlier, is a 2002 gangster drama film, which features Mohanlal and Ajay Devgn in the lead roles. The film also has Vivek Oberoi, Manisha Koirala, Antara Mali, Seema Biswas, and many more in crucial roles as well. The film garnered critical and commercial acclaim upon release and is often considered to be one of the best Indian gangster films ever made.

Coming to Mohanlal’s workfront, the actor is currently working on his next film, L2: Empuraan, which is helmed by Prithviraj Sukumaran. The film features an ensemble cast including Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas, Saniya Iyappan, Saikumar, Suraj Venjaramoodu, and many more in crucial roles and is slated to hit the silver screens on March 27th, this year.

Apart from that, the actor is also set to reunite with veteran filmmaker Sathyan Anthikad for the upcoming film Hridayapoorvam, as well as with the young filmmaker Tharun Moorthy for Thudarum. Additionally, it was also recently revealed that he has also joined hands with Anoop Menon for an upcoming project and is also set to reunite with Jeethu Joseph for the third part of the Drishyam franchise.