Shah Rukh Khan doesn’t need a director, would never work with him: Ram Gopal Varma on not casting SRK for Company | Bollywood News

Actor Shah Rukh Khan has worked with almost all of the biggest directors of our film industry, including names like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Farhan Akhtar, Karan Johar, Ashutosh Gowarikar, and Farah Khan. However, there is one major director who the actor has never worked with, and that is Ram Gopal Varma. Hate him or love him, Varma is responsible for iconic films like Satya (1998) and Rangeela (1995), just to name a few, and he recently revealed the real reason behind never collaborating with the ‘King’ of Bollywood. 
While talking to Radio Nasha about his several projects, friendships and falling outs, Varma was asked about a certain project with Shah Rukh that never saw the light of day. The director confirmed its exence and said that even after several meetings with the actor, something seemed amiss about working with Shah Rukh.
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He said, “So we had a lot of meetings, but the one thing I always felt was that Shah Rukh is like a live wire. He is always bursting with energy, and my style of filmmaking is that I generally try to make my films very composed and intense. I thought that Shah Rukh being restricted like that would be doing an injustice to both Shah Rukh and the fans who have come to see him and expect certain things.
The director added that he never felt comfortable with the thought of directing Shah Rukh and said, “I just felt that I wasn’t a capable enough director to handle Shah Rukh and his image. Because he is not in sync with my style of filmmaking. For example, at one point in time, I approached him for Company also, but again I thought that Mallik’s character should be a very laid-back and lazy-looking guy. That is the exact opposite of what I think one would expect from Shah Rukh. I had a terrific story for him, but it didn’t happen.”
Varma went on to say that Shah Rukh doesn’t really need any director in his films. He lauded the actor for his ability to hold the camera without any help and stated that for a very ‘hands-on’ director like him, helming a Shah Rukh film would be fruitless. “When you tell Shah Rukh about a scene, he’ll just get up and he’ll do it. He’s fantastic, but then I thought that there is nothing for me to do in his film. I don’t think that directors make a lot of difference in his films, because he is a performer who can hold the camera and entertain you without anything. That’s a very different kind of stardom,” said Varma.
While the aforementioned project never got made, Varma’s 2002 film Company did release. Instead of Shah Rukh, Ajay Devgn was cast, and the film also included Vivek Oberoi, Mohanlal, Manisha Koirala, Seema Biswas and Antara Mali.