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 technically slick look to the film. The level of technical excellence in Company is what "Indian Cinema" (not bollywood) needs to attain. He sets a target for other filmmakers. Company could arguably be the only Indian film where every actor of the ensemble cast gives his career best performance. Starting with the débutante Vivek Oberoi, he gets the meatiest role in his very first film. He makes an ideal debut in a role that doesn't require histrionics but requires an actor to be that character throughout the film. He doesn't show much variety throughout but he is outstanding in the limited acts he has to do. Antra Mali springs a pleasant surprise, especially in the outrage scene in the second half. Manisha Koirala doesn't have a well defined role but she creates space for herself in the few scenes she gets. Also she smokes with élan. Ajay Devgn shines in serious roles and Company is no exception. Mohanlal exudes class in his limited screen time. His South Indian accent syncs with his character. He is the ideal tough cop of Mumbai.Company must be appreciated on the technical, narrative and performance levels. It is a notch above other Hindi dramas. Being Ram Gopal Varma's magnum opus, it is a must-watch.

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.

First I would like to add that I am not very much fond of the crop of Bollywood movies. They are convoluted and hackneyed story lines with excruciatingly long dance numbers but I stumbled upon this film, "Company". At first thought, I realized the parallels to Scorsese's "Goodfellas" but once the story digresses it is more than that. There are clear influences of the great mobster films of Coppola and others but the story in the way it is told is quite refreshing for Bollywood standards. We see the rise of this slum dweller Chandu, who meets upon this respected underworld leader, Malik, and slowly progresses up to the top of the hierarchy. Ram Gopal Varma is a very effective director. He displays very bizarre camera angles through exquisite cinematography. The editing is sharp and quick with the running time flying by. The only criticism is the song sequence in the beginning and the dance club number. Totally pointless. With the recent influx of Chinese films being displayed in America such as "Hero" and "Shaolin Soccer", I hope someone like Tarantino brings a film like this to a larger audience because not doing so would do it an incredible injustice. What more can one say,It's "Company".

Ram Gopal Varma pulled off a very beautiful film, full with suspense and action, what every avid film fan secretly desires.Complete with actual facts and thrill it was a fun movie and could probably be compare to Godfather being the marvel that it was. Based ON the Bombay underworld the actors had done justice to the roles given to them. My favorite was Ajay Devgan because of his realistic was of portraying the characters and he was basically the life of the film in my view...I can't help but repeat myself but It was that much of a splendid movieOf you want to go for a fun filled ride watch it..