Not long ago, Sonu Sood’s character in 'Shootout At Wadala' - the protagonist Dilawar Imtiaz Haskar is based on Dawood Ibrahim.
A WikiLeaks cable in 2011 underscored the close ties between multibillion Hindi film industry and the underworld.
Vivek Oberoi’s entry to Bollywood with 'Company' co-starring Ajay Devgan impressed many. Vivek essayed the character of Chandrakant Nagre. Ram Gopal Varma's 2002 'Company' is loosely based on the real-life underworld organization D-Company and the split between Dawood and Chhota Rajan.
The dialogue 'Saara Seher Mujhe Loin Ke Naam Se Jante Hai' - might have guaranteed a new place to villain Ajit -- but the underworld grip on Bollywood was quite strong.
Tiger Shroff was attacked on Oct 18th, 2026. Three men accused of opening fire at actor Tiger Shroff’s car in Mumbai have been arrested in Rajasthan’s Kota. The accused have been identified as Phool Singh and Rehan, both from Haryana, and Hrithik Kumar, a resident of Bihar.
There are different stories -- off the screen too.
Indian agencies "listened in" on several conversations between don Chhota Shakeel, a leading organiser of Bollywood events in the UAE, and other underworld operatives that showed that arrangements were under way in full swing to welcome a Bollywood superstar at the popular Meydan Hotel in Nad Al Sheba in Dubai in 2015.
An 'aide' reportedly assured Shakeel that he will take Dawood’s son and daughter-in-law to the star. After a few minutes, Shakeel calls the aide to ask him to give his reference to the Bollywood event organiser, and that “children” must be arranged a good photo-op.
There were more.
Monica Bedi and Abu Salem
Actress Monica Bedi had a relationship with the underworld Don Abu Salem. Their 'romance' made headlines in the late 1990s and early 2000s, a relationship that led to high-profile arrests, a fake passport conviction, and Salem's extradition to India.
It has been reported that a few stars with nexus to underworld dons would even threaten directors and producers.
Haji Mastan was the first underworld don to have married a Bollywood actress. His wife, Sona’s role was portrayed by Kangana Ranaut in 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbai'.
Haji was also very much fond of Madhubala.
Dawood certainly financed several Bollywood movies and it is said that he coerced directors to cast Mandakini (his wife later) in movies. Of course - when Dawood went underground, she got married and settled down.
Anita Ayub, a beauty pageant contestant and a small time actress, also had very close relations with Dawood Ibrahim. He allegedly forced producer Javed Siddique to cast her in movies but when he refused, he was shot dead in 1995 by gang members.
Two years later, film producer Rajiv Rai was shot at by Abu Salem's hit men allegedly for extortion.
It has been reported that in a leaked tape, Sanjay Dutt explained how Underworld dons harassed a noted actress.
T-Series founder and music mogul Gulshan Kumar was shot dead on August 12, 1997, at the age of 41 in Andheri, Mumbai.
In January 2001, well-known Indian film director Rakesh Roshan narrowly escaped an assassination attempt outside his Mumbai office after he refused to sell the overseas rights of his latest film,Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, to one of India’s leading criminal organizations.
The contract killing was allegedly ordered by an Indian underworld figure based in Dubai, financed with money laundered through Abu Dhabi, planned in Pakistan and ultimately carried out in India.
• Lack of Formal Finance: For decades, cinema was not recognized as an official industry by Indian banks, leaving producers unable to secure legitimate loans.
• Underworld Funding: Gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim and Haji Mastan stepped into this financial void, using Bollywood to launder black money and gain social prestige.
The fact of the matter is from the underworld’s early links with film financing in the 1960s to the shootings of Rajiv Rai and other attacks -- there is a history and legacy of anecdotes on gun violence, extortion and intimidation spanning four decades.
The organised crime groups influenced film financing, casting decisions and distribution rights.
The relationship became more coercive by the late 1980s and 1990s, with criminal groups allegedly financing productions, demanding overseas rights and attempting to dictate casting decisions.
Rishi Kapoor openly wrote in his autobiography (Khullam Khulla) about meeting Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai, while other prominent actors and filmmakers were regularly invited to social gatherings or received expensive gifts. Rishi Kapoor played the villainous crime lord Goldman (named Iqbal Seth) in the 2013 spy thriller 'D-Day', a character widely modeled on fugitive Dawood.
Actor Sanjay Dutt completed a five-year jail sentence for possessing illicit weapons supplied to him by the architects of the deadly 1993 Mumbai terror attacks.
While the law was amended in 2000 to allow the film industry to qualify for bank credit, the underworld’s influence within Indian cinema had already become deeply entrenched.
Mahesh Bhatt once observed that “there’s hardly anybody in the film industry who has…not been contacted by the mafia.”
In 2011, a WikiLeaks cable issued by the State Department underscored the close ties between multibillion film industry and the underworld.
“The industry also welcomed funds from gangsters and politicians, looking for ways to launder their ill-gotten gains, known in India as ’black money,’ the cable noted.
“After the government added the film industry to the list of legitimate industries, the corporatization of Bollywood – and the wider entertainment industry – began.”
ends
No comments:
Post a Comment