Company (2002)

Seeing main review on IMDb was really disappointing,since i am a big fan of this site,in terms of reviews,But this review i am afraid is ridiculous in terms of comparison making.Comparing Goodfellas with this masterpiece is an insult to Ram Gopal Verma.I think,Indian reviewers or critics are in habit of seeing plagiarization of English movies and therefore they alway go on with Grandiloquence about the Movies that are made with exceptions.I have always been a great fan of RGV films.probably because i have watched English movies throughout my life and i hated the mainstream Genre of commercial films(the so-called Formula films) viz Karan Johar or Shah Rukh tag films.Amidst all this chaos,there emerged Ram Gopal Varma who had the guts and creativity and perhaps technical excellence to compete with Hollywood.The Film "COMPANY" is no exception.It wastes no time,the story is tight.Even the Song-Khallas with which Isha Koppikar gained popularity was a "PUN" or a double meaning song and provided some lightness to otherwise tight plot.The story of "COMPANY" draws inspiration from real Life(In case of GOOD FELLAS,the real life inspiration was not that accurate,Tony De Vito was called a psychic Killer and a Murderer,whose role in the robbery wasn't apparently well known and wasn't established,so as to say.Only Joe Pesci had made this guy more popular.The story as we all know is about feud between two gangsters,namely Malik and Chandu which reminds us of real life feud between Chhota Rajan and Dawood Ibrahim(which Mr. RGV promptly denies in having association with).The story spills out details with generation of thrill in every frame of the movie and manages to keep us up till the end.Narrations are excellent.Unlike Godfather,in which the first half you feel like sleeping,because of lack of any pacy background scores etc,the music keeps us interested till the very end.

Ajay Devgun shows what an actor can do in a film without having to say much.He's given powerful(and yes,better than Marlon Brando) performance.

Vivek A.K.A chandu Oberoi is magnificent in his first role.

And no! Rani Bai's character is NOT a wasteful one.

Fmovies: Ram Gopal Varma made the critically acclaimed and surprisingly commercially successful film that boosted and launched the careers of the actors, writers and music composers – Satya. After four years, he came back with another hard hitting take on the Mumbai underworld by the name of Company. Company is one of the best films made in India and will stay alive for eons to come. Although it portrays the underworld, it has its underlying message loud and clear over every frame – Crime Never Pays. It depicts both the police and the gangsters and leaves for you to decide which is right of the two.

Company is the story of two friends who turn foes through the length of the film. Chandu is a small time 'bhai' who makes it big as the right hand of Malik. The central character of the film, Malik, is a mafia leader who sets up the most successful crime organization in Mumbai by the name of Company. The two good friends turn enemies somewhere in between the film. It all takes place so vividly on the screen that you almost miss when they turned foes. The script moves meanderingly through the highs and lows of the Company traveling through three exotic cities and a multitude of characters.

Action sequences are a huge asset to the film. Choreographed brilliantly by Allan Amin, the scenes are filmed in filthy, unpleasant bylanes of Mumbai. Much like Satya, Company also has the camera following the characters like first person view. Ram Gopal Varma has zeroed in two foreign locations for the film and both are vital to the story. Hong Kong's enormous intersections and the extra-tall buildings are a metaphor to the Company's growth and success. Kenya's Nairobi comes in the post-interval where an intense, eloquent chase sequence takes place between Chandu and Malik's men. This scene is not to be missed. The cinematography is exceptional. It has weird camera angles and some noteworthy movements. Varma's films always have innovative cinematography. Also, shooting a film with those camera angles is no easy task. I deeply apprehend the hard work gone into the making. Not a single frame has been compromised with.

Production design by R. Verman is experimental at places. For instance, the look of the track 'A Shot of Company' in the beginning has a unique stamp all over. The use of red lights, spooky dance movements and a ghastly set make the song a different experience. The songs composed by Sandeep Chowta are very good. 'Khallas' is a winner from the word go and the music video is impressive. Though it comes as a speed breaker in the film, I felt it was very much necessary. This is the only song in the film. Background score by Chowta is phenomenal. Malik's soul is his best composition to date. The percussive tabla in the track is hauntingly beautiful.

Story and screenplay by Jaideep Sahni deserve all the praise. As mentioned earlier, it is vivid and detailed and almost leaves you unquestionable. The film maintains a steady pace throughout which itself could have been sped up, but that doesn't hamper either. The final hour is pure bliss. Varma gives his best to this part. Also, the length is unconventional. It has an hour and a half pre-interval and just an hour's post-interval running time. This, in turn, proves Varma's unwillingness to add meaningless scenes to increase the running time and make the film dividable into two halves.

Company has a bigger budget than Satya, and instead of using them for dance numbers in Egypt or Swiss, Varma gives a tech

'Company' opens with Malik's haunting introductory monologue about the underworld and this is followed by Urmila Matondkar's bloodthirsty sadistic number, the tune of which will echo throughout the film. The song sequence itself, 'Aaja re Mere Gale Lag ja' describes the underworld. 'Company' ranks among one of Ram Gopal Verma's best and one of the best crime films of Indian cinema. A fellow commenter has wonderfully made comparisons with Shakespeare's King Lear. Sahni's writing is of high quality and it just keeps one's eyes glued towards the screen.

There are several words that can describe the film-making. A few that pop up include: realism, slick, gritty, stylish without being over the top, and fine editing. Cinematography deserves special mention as the camera acts as an eye. Use of lighting is remarkable as this gives the city and crime-world a darkly raw look and use of sound effects e.g. the ringing mobile phones is skillfully done.

The songs are thankfully relegated to the background except for one, 'Khallas'. All the songs add to the narration and 'Khallas' is a situational song that takes place in a nightclub, the lyrics of which cleverly describe the events.

Verma also displays the relationships between the characters in a very concise manner. Even though, the main focus is the relationship between Chandu and Malik, with just a few scenes who shows us the significance of the connections between the other characters. For example, just that one scene where Saroja is in bed telling Malik about her mother's wish for them to get married is enough of an indication of their bond.

Ajay Devgan formidably underplays his part. He could safely add 'Company' at the top of his list of achievements. Vivek Oberoi delivers a knockout debut performance. The actor has shown tremendous potential and like Devgan, he too can add this to the top of his list. Mohanlal is adequate. However, I don't quite understand this respect he has for Malik. The guy's a cold-blooded killer (well he has other's to do the dirty work) and Sreenivasan is shown as a good cop so what's the basis of this mutual respect? Manisha Koirala again does what she's best at doing. She gives a subtle but enigmatic performance. Seema Biswas is likable and she naturally gets under the skin of her part. Antara Mali is mind-blowing, and like the men, she too can include 'Company' at the top of her list.

Finally, 'Company' is Verma's masterpiece. He's the one who brought it all together to make the film and tell the dark story of the underworld. One of the best films of the genre.

Company fmovies. Company is far and away the absolute best non-traditional plot Hindi movie ever. I think it is even better than Sholey. It ranks up there with Scarface... no, I take it back, Company is BETTER than Scarface. I am a big gangster/mafia movie fan, and there a lot of great ones out there -- both Hindi and American -- The Godfather, Scarface, Goodfellas, Heat, Sathiya, Gangster, Khattay... but Company takes the friggin cake.

Gripping plot, phenomenal acting, engaging soundtrack... this movie will have you enthralled from the moment you hit play till the closing credits, after which time you will think about the movie for hours. Vivek Oberoi is masterful, Ajay Devgan is flawless. Based on a true story, this is THE Indian movie of the decade. Ram Gopal Varma hits a home run with this masterpiece.

This is a stunning film, awesome story, acting and music makes this one of the most enjoyable movies i have ever seen - hindi or english. The performances are excellent, with special mention to the new actors- Vivek Oberoi and Antara Mali, who played their parts with such expertise and conviction.

Highly recomended

Where Satya was moving but not very original, Company mixes HK, US and indian influences to look like something unique. The dancing scenes are better integrated than in Satya, the movie is short for an indian movie but more efficient, the story is well written although the idea of mafia as a business has been seen many times, acting is wonderful. But the best thing here is Varma's masterful visual style combining a dirty photography, an editing influenced by Hong Kong cinema, a documentary like visual style to create his own unique style and giving the movie a hot, heavy, dark, dirty atmosphere. It might be edited like an MTV video sometimes, being sometimes too long but although Varma is not (yet?) a director of the scale of Tarantino or Ferrara this movie brings something new in gangster movie. Highly recommended.