15 years of Company: Ajay Devgn says RGV at first refused him the role of Malik

Actor Ajay Devgn shares that for the 2002 film Company, director Ram Gopal Varma told the actor that he wasn’t the right choice for the role, only to call him again the next day. There was a bit of suspense...

Ajay Devgn’s portrayal of mafia boss Malik in Ram Gopal Varma’s cult film Company (2002) is considered one of the finest performances in the 48-year-old actor’s career. “There are films that make you proud, and stay with you for a long time. Company is one such film, and I remember everything about it,” says Ajay.

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma wanted Ajay Devgn’s character of crime lord Malik in Company to be calm, not aggressive.

However, the actor reveals that Varma, aka RGV, had initially refused him the lead role in Company. “It’s a pretty funny story. When Ramu first came to me, he had decided that he would start working on Company in the next three or four months. Then he sat down for the script narration, and I loved my part. After he narrated the film, he said I wouldn’t be the right choice for it,” reveals Ajay.

Recounting the whole incident, he adds, “Then the next day, he (RGV) called me and said, ‘I want to meet you.’ I said, ‘We just met yesterday.’ He said, ‘When I was narrating the script to you, I thought of another film that I am making, and I think you will be perfect for it.’ I was like, ‘What is this?’ Then he said, ‘No, I’m just joking... I want you for Company.’”

The actor tells us that it was RGV’s idea to keep the character of the mafia boss calm and composed, despite being in such a violent trade. “He didn’t want me to be overpowering. The way my character used to sit [in the back seat of the car], and everything else — all of that was planned by Ramu. Had [the portrayal] been aggressive, people would’ve thought it was a negative character, and it wouldn’t have had the same impact,” says Ajay.

Divulging more details about the way his character sketch was explained, Ajay narrates an incident: “There was a scene when I was sitting at the back [in a car], and I had to ask one of my men to shoot a guy. You know what Ramu told me? He said, ‘Just chill and don’t worry. Think of it as a doctor giving an injection to one of his patients.’ That’s the way it really was.”

Memorable dialogues

Jiski nazar game se hati ... samjho woh game se hat gaya

Hamare dhande mein ek galati ko maaf karna ... usse bhi badi galati hai

Khaas aadmiyo ko yeh bhi yaad dilana chahiye ... ke woh kabhi bhi aam ho sakte hai

Yahan koi bhi jab chahe bharti ho sakta hai ... magar istifa nahin de sakta

Pachees baar keh chuka hoon ki ... dhande ki baat phone pe nahi

Joh hamare usool todhta hai ... hum usse todh dete hain

Duniya mein har kaam fayde ke liye kiya jata hai

Har insaan ke andar ek rakshash hota hai ... bas kuch log usse bahar nikaalne se darte nahi

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