Upala KBR (DNA; June 13, 2017)

Last year, director Ram Gopal Varma and actor Vivek Oberoi met to talk about a sequel to their 2002 superhit crime-thriller and Vivek’s launch vehicle, Company. The actor is said to have liked the script so much that he came on board as a producer for the trilingual (Hindi, Telugu, Tamil) film to go on floor this year.

Vivek confirms, “RGV was making Sarkar 3, so we had to take a break from our plans to make Company sequel. I’ve just returned after shooting Vivegam and I’m busy with promotions for Bank Chor. After this, I’ll sit down with RGV to create a strategy for moving forward with Company 2.”

However, Vivek will be in for a rude shock when he finds out that RGV has no plans of making the sequel! When quizzed, the director said, “That was just an idea and there’s been no discussion after that. No one was really clear about it, but I am definitely not going to make it.”

Film is based on the story of underworld don and entrepreneur Muthappa Rai; will release in four languages
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; April 16, 2016)

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has announced yet another gangster flick, Rai, with Vivek Oberoi in the lead.

It is based on the life of underworld don and entrepreneur Muthappa Rai, who, as Ramu stated on social media, will launch the poster "on May 1 which is his birthday". Kannada actor Sudeep, who worked with Ramu in Phookh, was in the running for the title role.

But the filmmaker has now settled for Vivek, who he launched in 2002 as Chandrakant Nagre aka Chandu in another don drama, Company. RGV claims the stories of the biggest gangsters, Pablo Escobar, Dawood Ibrahim and Al Capone, are nothing compared to the drama of Rai.

In an earlier interview to Mirror (February 25) Vivek had revealed that six months ago RGV had met him for a narration. "Ramu told me he'd had a Eureka moment, which had translated into the perfect script. When I heard it, I was blown. There wasn't a single scene I wanted to change. Company 2 has the perfect script," he had said, adding that his first production would be a multilingual film.

Rai is a Hindi-Kannada-Tamil-Telugu biopic and will be shot in Mangalore, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Dubai and London. It is being produced by CR Manohar. We have no idea if it's the same script narrated to Vivek because the actor was on a flight and RGV did not respond to our text.

Vivek Oberoi justifies his decision to rope in Ram Gopal Varma to direct his first production, Company 2
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 25, 2016)

Fifteen years ago, a struggling actor walked into Ram Gopal Varma's Mumbai office and waited patiently to audition for a part in the then leading director's upcoming gangster thriller, Company. Also, featuring bigwigs like Ajay Devgn, Manisha Koirala and Mohanlal, the film was a fictional expose on the Mumbai underworld, loosely based on Dawood Ibrahim's terror outfit, D-Company.

"I don't want a New York-educated, clean-shaven boy for the role of Chandu Nagre, you don't fit the part," Ramu shooed Vivek Oberoi off. But the actor, who had decided that he would make his Bollywood debut with Company, rented a hovel in a Mumbai slum and lived there for a fortnight. After 15 days, he barged into Ramu's office puffing on a beedi, bearded and dishevelled, wearing a checked shirt over a ganji and chappals. Ramu glared at the ruffian as he pulled out a chair and slouched in it, throwing some photographs taken inside the hovel.

"Thobda kya dekhrai, photo dekhle," Vivek told Ramu, and once the filmmaker realised that it was the same chikna sitting in front of him, the role that bagged him accolades and awards galore, was his for the taking. Six months ago, life came a full circle when RGV met Vivek for a narration. "Ramu told me he'd had a Eureka moment which had translated into the perfect script. When I heard it, I was blown. There wasn't a single scene I wanted to change. Company 2 has the perfect script," Vivek recalled in a telephonic chat with Mirror from Ahmedabad. The actor has taken off to Modi-land to develop a government-recognized township over 150 acres.

Vivek's first production will be directed by RGV. The Hindi, Telugu, Tamil trilingual will roll in the middle of the year and Vivek plans to dub and release it in other languages too. Casting for the film is currently underway. Will he rope in his father Suresh Oberoi too? "Hmmm, he's a difficult guy to please. If we manage to pull him away from his grandchildren and golf, maybe I will finally share the screen with him after a long, patient wait," Vivek informs.

When asked if he is worried about aligning himself with the controversial filmmaker who has enemies galore and a career which is on the downslide, Vivek laughs out loud, "Ramu is an eccentric genius and nobody can make a gangster film like him. And he is a survivor who not only has big flops but also huge hits like Shiva and Satya under his belt. He himself makes fun of his work, which is an incredible quality. I have also been written off as an actor. People have been writing obituaries about my acting career but look at us, we're back with a bang!"

The actor-director had last teamed up in 2010 for the two-part, bilingual biographical crime film, Rakht Charitra, based on the life of Paritala Ravindra and Maddelacheruvu Suri. Vivek insists Ramu hasn't gone anywhere for him to bring him back. "He's on a high after the success of Killing Veerappan and prepping for Sarkar 3. We're both excited about Company 2," he exults. Recalling his tough times, when the film industry had boycotted him, he says he has learnt to stay clear of manipulative industry insiders. "I just want to have fun making movies and believe me, Ramu and I are formidable spirits. If he quits as a filmmaker, Ramu would make a powerful don," Vivek guffaws.

Upala KBR (DNA; February 17, 2016)

Ram Gopal Varma and Vivek Oberoi have given some good movies together. Ramu had given a break to the actor when he directed Company (2002) and Rakta Charitra (2010). When quizzed about it Vivek says, “Right now I am plunging into my home production in a big way. I am very excited about it as it’s a follow up to Company. RGV is directing it and there couldn’t have been anybody to direct the sequel or me better. He always gives me great characters and brings out the best in me whether it was Company or Rakta Charitra. We share that kind of a comfort zone and I blindly trust his vision as a director. I don’t want to divulge too many details at this time as we want to make a proper announcement soon.” Currently, the actor, who recently performed at the Make In India event, is following a rigorous diet and fitness schedule for the role.

And Manisha Koirala has been approached for Company 2
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 30, 2015)



On his 39th birthday on September 3, Vivek Oberoi, who was in Delhi, green-lit a biopic on UP's deadly contract killer, Virendra Pratap Shahi. He plays the lead character in the film which rolls in November.

The yet-untitled film is being helmed by a debutante director whose name Vivek refuses to disclose. It follows Shahi's journey from being a local goon in Gorakhpur to killing over 50 people. Shahi was shot dead in 1997, by a new gunda on the block, who had a meteoric rise and an equally brisk fall.

"It is a big-budget gangster drama set in the '80s and '90s in North India," an excited Vivek told Mirror. "I'm flattered that people still remember me as Chandu Bhai from Company and want to see me as a rough, rugged anti-hero. That's what I will give them," Vivek says.

Casting for Hari Shanker Tiwari, who plays another gangster for Gorakhpur and Sriprakash Shukla, who ends Shahi's legacy is currently underway in Mumbai.

Company 2 rolls next year under his own production banner. Thirteen years after he bagged two Filmfare Awards, for the best debut (male) and best actor in a supporting role, for the original film directed by Ram Gopal Varma, Vivek returns as Chandrakant Nagre.

Part 1 ended in 2002 with Malik, played by Ajay Devgn, being assassinated and Chandu being jailed. British director Danny Boyle had cited Company as one of the muses for his Academy Award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire referring to the film as a "slick, often mesmerizing portrayal of the Mumbai underworld, with a display of brutality and urban violence, and their gritty realism".

The next instalment in the franchise, tentatively titled Company 2, will have Vivek play a bad man, but will not be a continuation of Part 1. Mirror has learnt that Manisha Koirala has been approached to reprise her role of Saroja. Vivek refuses to comment on the subject saying the film is still in its nascent stage.

To make up for a working birthday, the actor is presently on a 10-day vacation at a detox retreat and spa, two hours away from Ahmedabad with his daughter, Ameyaa Nirvana, son Vivaan Veer and wife Priyanka.

The actor returns on October 8 and will be shooting for Great Grand Masti till the month end.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 14, 2015)

Vivek Oberoi has always been vocal about his desire to produce a sequel to his debut film, Company. Directed by Ram Gopal Varma, the original, which released in 2002, was a fictional expose of the Mumbai underworld, loosely based on Dawood Ibrahim's mafia organisation, D-Company. Vivek's Chandrakant Nagre aka Chandu joins the company and slowly gets close to the boss, Malik, played by Ajay Devgn. But after an incident the two are at loggerheads and as the rift widens, the two become bitter foes and eventually, Malik is assassinated and Chandu imprisoned. Thirteen years later, Chandu bhai will be back in Company 2, which is being produced by Vivek, who will reprise the role that bagged him two Filmfare Awards, for Best Debut (Male) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role. The sequel will roll by the year end.

“I'm flattered that people still remember a role I shot for 13 years ago. In fact, many of my fans who don't know my name call me Chandu bhai. They want to see me as a rough, rowdy, rugged anti-hero and that's what I am going to give them in Company 2,“ the actor promises.

Even though Vivek has graduated to playing lead roles, he has made an impression in other negative roles, whether it was as Maya Dolas in Sanjay Gupta's gangster drama, Shootout At Lokhandwala, or Krrish 3's Kaal. “A large number of my fans want to see me as the bad man,“ he admits.

Company 2, as it is tentatively called now, will have him in a villainous avatar but will not be a continuation of part one. “I'm in the process of buying the rights. Producing a film is a full time job and all the more difficult since I have some acting commitments too. We can't rush things because the original film was iconic, primarily because of the genius that Ram Gopal Varma is,“ he reasons. Will RGV return to direct Part 2? “I'm not in a position to talk about where Ram Gopal Verma and I stand vis-à-vis the film.“