A nexus between Bollywood and the Mafia, a one-sided toxic and deadly affair – with just one winner.
Bollywood’s intimate relationship with the mafia is one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets.
For decades, this symbiotic connection fed on itself as stars, directors and producers flaunted their associations with crime bosses.
Gangsters loved its glamour and used the industry to launder and wash their money, financing films, the lucrative business of piracy, counterfeit, overseas rights and extortion.
But it was always a one-sided, toxic and deadly affair – with just one winner.
Extortion has raised its head brazenly once again.
An actor who did not want to be named told Sky News: “It never left the industry; most will pay up and not make it public for fear of retribution.”
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On Tuesday, Ranvir Singh, one of Bollywood’s top actors, informed the Mumbai police of an extortion call.
The threat came via a WhatsApp voice note, which demanded millions of dollars. The police have launched an investigation and beefed up his security.
Last week, several rounds were fired into the home of Rohit Shetty, a big-time producer and director.
A social media post by the attackers said this was just a “trailer” and warned Bollywood to stay within limits.
It added: “Those we have contacted should mend their ways while there is still time. Otherwise, there will be nowhere to hide.”
But the most audacious attacks were on superstar Salman Khan in 2024.
A threatening email was followed by men on a bike firing several rounds into his home. Salman’s security has been enhanced with multiple rings of armed personnel protecting him while bulletproof glass shields his home.
The transnational Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for these attacks. It’s headed by 32-year-old gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is said to have several gunmen working for him.
Lawrence has publicly threatened Salman, whom he accuses of hunting a blackbuck in 1998. The antelope is considered sacred to the Bishnoi community to which Lawrence belongs.
Despite being imprisoned since 2014 on charges of organised crime, drug trafficking, extortion, and targeted killings, his operations continue in India and abroad.
The gang has been designated a terror organisation by the Canadian government.
Last year, the group claimed responsibility for killing Baba Siddique, a former minister and senior politician and a close friend of Salman Khan.
The killing sent shockwaves in the industry, and many believe the murder was a message to Salman and others.
But the gang’s biggest hit was the deadly shooting of international Punjabi rap star Sidhu Moose Wala in the summer of 2022.
Canadian-based gangster Goldy Brar, a key member of the gang, took responsibility.
According to the Delhi Police, Lawrence was the mastermind and planned the murder from inside Delhi’s notorious Tihar jail.
Until the law was amended in 2000, Bollywood was unorganised and legitimate forms of financing were unavailable. It meant producers found alternate revenue – and that’s when the mafia stepped in with money and protection.
The shooting of music tycoon Gulshan Kumar in 1997 sent shudders through the industry. A vulnerable big name was targeted, and the rest fell in line.
Leading director Rakesh Roshan narrowly escaped an assassination attempt over his films’ overseas rights in 2001.
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It was an open secret that syndicates of Karim Lala, Haji Mastan, Dawood Ibrahim, Abu Salem and Chhota Rajan were entrenched in this crime, but none were ever touched.
Occasionally, low-level foot soldiers would be picked up and perfunctory charges imposed and punished.
Special police units were constituted in Mumbai with the purpose of crushing these syndicates, though with a mix of success.
The most famous case of this nexus is that of actor Sanjay Dutt.
He was convicted of possessing automatic assault rifles and grenades procured from the underworld.
It was part of a consignment of weapons and bombs used in the 1993 Mumbai bombings that killed 257 people.
Sanjay was imprisoned for five years and maintained that the weapons were for his family’s protection and not connected to the terror plot.
According to reports in the last few weeks, a dozen film personalities have received threats, mostly from people who identify themselves with the Bishnoi gang.
There was a lull, or at least publicly for some time, till Lawrence Bishnoi burst on the scene, and now we are witnessing a rerun of the earlier years that plagued Bollywood.
