Harshvardhan Rane to Play Encounter Specialist Daya Nayak
Ram Gopal Varma’s new film is based on the ‘supercop’ who was instrumental in killing a large number of gangsters in Mumbai
Harshvardhan Rane, last seen as a stalker-politician in Ek Deewane Ki Deewanayat, will next play encounter specialist cop Daya Nayak. Says director Ram Gopal Varma, “My new film is titled Police Company and the tagline is ‘It Is More Dangerous Than D Company.’ Police are an institution, the underworld is a business. Give an institution extra powers and it turns into a Company.”
Explaining the genesis of gangsterism in India, spawning the need for encounter specialists, Varma says, “After Dawood Ibrahim decimated most of his rival gangs, he grew his gang into the D Company and then moved to Dubai, leaving his protégée Chota Rajan to head the operations of the Company. Subsequently, there was a split between Dawood and Rajan, which in turn left a vacuum in the Mumbai underworld. Taking advantage of the situation, many other gangs staked their claims for the top spot, setting off an outburst of crime. The system failed completely in halting gang activities and a lot of young men from UP, MP, Bihar etc. joined the underworld Companies. In this situation, a special squad was created, and it killed over 300 gangsters between 1997 and 2004.”
Police Company is inspired by that squad, one member of the team in particular – Daya Nayak. Varma succinctly answered the question ‘Why Rane as Daya Nayak?’ “Because he has the build and the b*lls. The chap is fighting fit in every sense. Besides, he can act.”
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This picture was taken during our first look test and I got an immediate glimpse of how RGV sir’s mind works. He doesn’t just tell you what a character is feeling; he breaks down the psychology behind every emotion and action. With Daya Nayak, I’m looking forward to shedding my own assumptions and allowing RGV sir’s maverick process to take me somewhere.” — Hrashavardhan Rane
