Ram Gopal Varma's Police Company has brought Daya Nayak back into the spotlight. The filmmaker has announced the crime thriller with Harshvardhan Rane playing a character inspired by the former Mumbai Police officer, who became a well-known name during the city's gang wars.
In his X post, Varma said the film is based on a police squad that operated between 1997 and 2004 and claimed that it killed more than 300 gangsters. Nayak was one of the officers associated with that period and was widely described by the media as an “encounter specialist.”
With Police Company bringing Nayak's story back into the conversation, here's a look at his eventful journey in the Mumbai Police.
Nayak's Early Days In Mumbai
Nayak was born in Karnataka and moved to Mumbai when he was young. He worked at a hotel while studying and later worked as a plumbing supervisor.
He joined the Mumbai Police as a Sub-Inspector in 1995. After training, he was posted at Juhu Police Station and later joined the Crime Branch's Detection Unit.
His work soon brought him into operations against organised crime. He took part in several cases involving Mumbai's gangs and became one of the better-known officers of that period.
Encounters And Legal Trouble
Although the media called him an “encounter specialist”, Nayak has rejected the description. He has said that he was doing his duty as a police officer and following orders from his seniors.
As per reports, he has done around 80 to 86 encounter killings during his career. Nayak was shot and injured during an operation against gangsters in 1997.
His career also faced a setback when he was accused of having assets beyond his known income. He was arrested and spent 58 days in custody during the investigation. After years of legal proceedings, he was cleared of the allegations and rejoined the Mumbai Police in 2012.
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He continued to serve in different positions and was promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police in July 2025. He retired on July 31, 2025, after around 30 years with the police force.
His Life On Big Screen
Daya Nayak's career has already been explored in films such as Ab Tak Chhappan, Kagaar, Encounter Daya Nayak and the Telugu film Golimaar.
Police Company continues Varma's long association with Mumbai's underworld stories, but it will reportedly stand on its own and will not have a direct narrative connection to Company (2002) or D Company (2021).
He has called the film “more dangerous than D Company” and said it will have a large cast.
My NEXT film's NAME being produced by T SERIES is ..
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) August 10, 2026
POLICE COMPANY
With the tag line
“It Is More Dangerous Than D Company “
The police is an institution, and an underworld company is a money making organisation..
But when an institution is given extra powers, it…
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