Harshvardhan Rane is preparing for one of the most unconventional roles of his career with Ram Gopal Varma’s Police Company.
The actor will portray a character inspired by former Mumbai Police officer Daya Nayak, whose career became closely associated with the city’s encounter squad during the Mumbai underworld era of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Varma announced the project in August, confirming Rane as the lead.
In a recent interview with The Times of India, Rane discussed the role and admitted that few people who have known him would have expected him to be cast as a character inspired by Nayak.
‘Nobody Could Have Thought I’d Be Playing Daya Nayak’
Rane acknowledged that the casting is different from the image many audiences may associate with him.
The actor said that “nobody could have thought” he would be playing Daya Nayak, describing the role as an opportunity to move beyond preconceived ideas about him as an actor.
The casting also marks an interesting collaboration between Rane and Varma, a filmmaker whose career has repeatedly explored Mumbai’s crime and policing landscape.
Ram Gopal Varma’s Police Company
Police Company is being directed by Ram Gopal Varma and produced by T-Series.
According to Varma’s announcement, the film is inspired by a special police squad that operated during a turbulent period in Mumbai’s underworld history. One of the squad’s members was Daya Nayak, whose story forms the inspiration for Rane’s character.
The filmmaker has described the project as a crime drama set against the conflict and criminal activity that surrounded Mumbai’s underworld during that period.
Who Was Daya Nayak?
Daya Nayak joined the Mumbai Police as a sub-inspector in 1995 after clearing the Maharashtra Public Service Commission examination.
His career changed significantly in the late 1990s when he became associated with the police’s anti-gangster operations. His work during the Mumbai underworld's peak eventually earned him widespread media attention and the “encounter specialist” label.
His career has also been the subject of differing accounts, with some former colleagues and observers questioning the larger-than-life image that developed around him. Contemporary reporting has noted that police encounters were generally team operations rather than the work of one individual.
Rane Is Preparing For A Major Transformation
Harshvardhan Rane has already begun working on his transformation for the role.
In August, the actor shared a glimpse of his first trial look test, showing himself shaving his beard as part of the initial character preparation. Rane described it as his first step into Daya Nayak’s world and said Varma would gradually add more permanent details to the look.
The trial look indicates that the actor is approaching the role through physical transformation as well as performance.
A Different Side Of Harshvardhan Rane
Rane has previously been associated with romantic dramas and intense relationship-based characters, including Sanam Teri Kasam and Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat.
Police Company represents a significant change in genre and character type. Instead of a conventional romantic protagonist, he will now be playing a police officer-inspired character operating against Mumbai’s organised crime network.
The role therefore gives him an opportunity to explore a more action-oriented and gritty performance.
Rane And Ram Gopal Varma Join Forces
For Rane, working with Ram Gopal Varma is another important aspect of the project.
Varma has previously made films centred on Mumbai’s underworld and policing, including Satya, Company and Ab Tak Chhappan. His cinema has repeatedly examined the relationship between organised crime, police operations and power in Mumbai.
Police Company continues that broad creative interest while drawing inspiration from a real police squad and one of its prominent members.
Police Company Is Reportedly Planned As A Two-Part Franchise
The project has also generated attention because reports have indicated that Police Company is being developed as a two-part franchise.
The film reportedly features a large ensemble cast, with actors including Fardeen Khan, Saurabh Shukla, Paresh Rawal and Makarand Deshpande among those associated with the project.
Production began in August, with the film being backed by T-Series.
A Real-Life Inspiration, But A Film Adaptation
While Rane’s character draws inspiration from Daya Nayak, Police Company is a cinematic project rather than a documentary.
That distinction is important because the film will interpret real events and personalities through a fictionalised dramatic framework. Varma has described the story as being inspired by the special squad and Nayak, rather than presenting it as a straightforward biographical account.
Harshvardhan Rane’s New Career Chapter
With Police Company, Harshvardhan Rane is taking on a role that combines real-life inspiration, physical transformation and the crime-thriller genre.
His portrayal of a character inspired by Daya Nayak is also notable because, as Rane himself pointed out, it is not the kind of casting many people would have predicted for him.
As filming progresses, audiences will get to see how the actor transforms himself into the police officer-inspired character and how Ram Gopal Varma interprets one of the most talked-about chapters of Mumbai’s policing and underworld history.
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