Ram Gopal Varma on choosing Ajay Devgn over Shah Rukh Khan for Company: "SRK play the kind of stillness would be unfair to both him and the film"

RGV added that right after he left Shah Rukh Khan’s house, he immediately called Ajay Devgn and finalized him for the role.

Ram Gopal Varma’s film Company, starring Ajay Devgn, received widespread acclaim. Recently, he revealed during an interview that he initially considered Shah Rukh Khan for Ajay Devgn's role.

In a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, RGV revealed that he had first offered the film to Shah Rukh Khan, who was genuinely interested in doing it. However, after meeting SRK, RGV changed his mind and decided to cast Ajay instead.

The director shared that Shah Rukh was his first choice for the role of N. Malik. “My first instinct was to cast Shah Rukh Khan. I went and narrated the story to him, and he was interested. But I felt that Shah Rukh’s natural body language is very energetic — he’s like a live wire. The character of Malik, on the other hand, needed to be calm, subtle, and cold-minded. I thought making Shah Rukh play that kind of stillness would be unfair to both him and the film,” RGV explained.

He went on to say, “There are performing actors and then there are natural actors. I’m not saying one is better than the other; they just have different approaches. Someone like Shah Rukh should be allowed to express himself freely. Trying to restrain him or make him fit into a quiet, controlled role wouldn’t work. But Ajay naturally has that calmness and intensity, which made him perfect for Malik. After that one meeting with SRK, I realised it wouldn’t work, though I never told him that.”

RGV added that right after he left Shah Rukh Khan’s house, he immediately called Ajay Devgn and finalized him for the role. He also mentioned that Abhishek Bachchan was his first choice for Chandrakant “Chandru” Nagre, but since Abhishek was busy with multiple films, he decided to go with a newcomer — and that’s how Vivek Oberoi came on board.

Also read: Rishab Shetty reacts to Ram Gopal Varma's praise for Kantara: Chapter 1, says "Main ek bachcha...

Directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Jaideep Sahni, Company is a gripping gangster drama featuring Mohanlal, Ajay Devgn, Vivek Oberoi, Manisha Koirala, Antara Mali, and Seema Biswas.

The film marked Mohanlal’s debut in Hindi cinema and served as the second installment in RGV’s acclaimed gangster trilogy, following Satya (1998).