Harshvardhan Rane to portray former encounter specialist Daya Nayak in the upcoming T-Series-backed film
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has announced his next feature film, Police Company, a crime drama inspired by the Mumbai Police’s battle against organised crime during one of the most violent periods in the city’s underworld history. The film, backed by T-Series, marks Varma’s return to the genre that made him one of India’s most recognised crime storytellers.
The project will feature Harshvardhan Rane in the lead role as former police officer and encounter specialist Daya Nayak, whose operations against Mumbai’s criminal syndicates became widely known during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
A story set during Mumbai’s underworld wars
Varma shared the film’s title and concept through a series of social media posts, describing Police Company as a story inspired by the special police squads formed to tackle organised crime.
The filmmaker introduced the film with the tagline, “It Is More Dangerous Than D Company,” and explained the central idea behind the project. According to him, while a criminal gang functions as a money-making organisation, a powerful institution such as the police can become equally dangerous when extraordinary powers are placed in its hands.
The film is set during the turbulent phase of Mumbai’s underworld after Dawood Ibrahim consolidated his control over rival gangs and expanded his criminal network, which later became known as D Company.
Dawood Ibrahim and the rise of D Company
Varma said the story explores the period when Dawood Ibrahim allegedly eliminated several rival gangs before relocating to Dubai and leaving his associate Chhota Rajan to manage operations.
The subsequent split between Dawood and Chhota Rajan created a power vacuum in Mumbai’s criminal world, leading to intense gang rivalries and a sharp rise in violence across the city.
According to the filmmaker, the growing criminal activity prompted the formation of a specialised police squad that carried out an extensive crackdown on gangsters between 1997 and 2004.
Harshvardhan Rane to play Daya Nayak
Varma confirmed that Police Company is inspired by the story of that special police unit, with a particular focus on one of its members, Daya Nayak.
Harshvardhan Rane has been cast to portray the former encounter specialist, marking his first collaboration with Ram Gopal Varma. The filmmaker also shared the actor’s first-look images from the film, presenting him in the role of Nayak.
The director has indicated that the film will feature a large ensemble cast, although the remaining cast members have not yet been officially announced.
Return to the crime genre
Police Company represents Varma’s return to the Mumbai underworld narratives that defined films such as Satya, Company, and D. The announcement has generated considerable interest among fans of realistic crime dramas, particularly because the film draws inspiration from real events and figures associated with Mumbai’s organised crime history.
For Harshvardhan Rane, the film adds another major project to a busy lineup. The actor is also expected to appear in Milap Zaveri’s Uniform, Omung Kumar’s Silaa, and Force 3, where he will reportedly share screen space with John Abraham.
With Police Company, Ram Gopal Varma appears set to revisit the violent era of Mumbai’s gang wars and the controversial police operations that reshaped the city’s criminal landscape.