Harshvardhan Rane is stepping into the world of Ram Gopal Varma with Police Company, where he plays encounter specialist Daya Nayak. For Rane, however, working with Varma is about more than simply being part of another film. In many ways, it is a dream he has carried since arriving in Mumbai.
Asked what it feels like to be Ram Gopal Varma’s “muse”, Rane said the director is someone almost every aspiring actor dreams of working with.
“Now I relate to how people go crazy as soon as they enter Mumbai CST station. Or if they are rich, they come by airport. I came in a train, so I relate to my story. As soon as you touch Mumbai ground, the first director you want to work with is Ram Gopal Varma. It’s a given. Every man and woman have dreamt of being in his frame,” he said.
For Rane, getting the opportunity to be part of Varma’s cinematic universe is something he considers himself fortunate to experience. “I just have to thank my stars that I am doing his film,” he added.
The actor is particularly intrigued by Varma’s take on Daya Nayak. While the character is inspired by the real-life Mumbai encounter specialist, Rane stressed that the filmmaker’s approach is not simply a retelling of known events. Instead, Police Company explores Varma’s interpretation of Nayak’s psychology.
“It is inspired by Daya Nayak sir. It’s his (RGV) interpretation of Daya Nayak’s psychology within what he did. His interpretation is something I’ve never read anywhere or seen anywhere. It’s something very new for me,” Rane said.
While discussing his experience of working with Varma, Rane also recalled a film by the filmmaker that continues to haunt him years later – Bhoot. In fact, the actor revealed that watching the horror film had such an impact on him that he stopped watching horror movies altogether.
“I remember it was a horror film. I think it was Bhoot. After watching that one horror film, I’ve never watched any horror film in my life. It was so bad. He scared me completely,” Rane recalled.
The actor even told Varma about the lasting effect the film had on him, much to the director’s amusement.
“I told him also and he was laughing. I was like, sir, people around me are enjoying horror films and going to watch it. I am the only one who is not watching it because of you,” he said.
For Rane, what made Bhoot particularly frightening was not merely its visuals, but Varma’s understanding of sound and atmosphere. He pointed to one sequence involving an old woman as an example of the filmmaker’s ability to create fear without relying on conventional horror imagery.
“The way he uses sound, you know, there was a shot of an old woman and the shot was of the street and he added the sound of that old woman’s breath as an audio. So scary, but so smart as a director. Without using the visual, just by the audio, he played a lot. Amazing. He’s a genius,” Rane said.
Now, years after Bhoot left him wary of horror films, Rane finds himself working with the very filmmaker whose ability to unsettle audiences left such a lasting impression on him. With Police Company, the actor is getting a chance to experience another side of Varma’s filmmaking – this time through the psychology of a character inspired by one of Mumbai’s most recognisable encounter specialists.
Police Company also features Fardeen Khan, Saurabh Shukla, Paresh Rawal and Makarand Deshpande in key roles. With Rane taking on the role of encounter specialist Daya Nayak, the film brings together a strong ensemble as Varma presents his interpretation of the man, his psychology and the world around him.
