Bollywood and the underworld

Brut India

The story of how Bollywood and the underworld first crossed paths...

Transcript

00:00Death threats against Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan and the murder of politician Baba Siddiqui,

00:05who was well-known for his Bollywood friendships,

00:08was said to signal a resurgence of the underworld's connection with the Hindi film industry.

00:13The connection between Bollywood and the underworld is said to have originated in the 1970s,

00:18peaked in the 1980s and 90s and declined in the 2000s.

00:23One of the most prominent names from the underworld was Haji Mastan,

00:27who along with Kareem Lala and Varadarajan Mudaliar,

00:30controlled smuggling rackets in Mumbai between 1960s and 1980s.

00:34Haji Mastan eventually branched into films by financing them.

00:38He enjoyed popularity as a style icon due to his extravagant lifestyle and all-white possessions,

00:44from his outfits and shoes to his Mercedes.

00:47According to a First Post report,

00:49Banks did not finance films until 2000 when the RBI introduced an amendment

00:53recognising entertainment as an industry eligible for legitimate bank credit.

00:58So filmmakers turned to other forms of investment,

01:01which usually came from sources with links in the crime world.

01:04This is how Haji Mastan, who was also known as Mumbai's original Mafia don,

01:09was said to have found a footing in the industry as an investor.

01:12He started by producing films featuring an actress he was interested in.

01:16This actress was Sona and she bore uncanny resemblance to Madhubala, whom Haji Mastan crushed on.

01:23He also married Sona but after that she stopped working in films.

01:27Ajay Devgn played a role inspired by Haji Mastan in Once Upon a Time in Mumbai.

01:35In the same film, Imran Hashmi played the role of Shoaib Ibrahim,

01:39which was based on Dawood Ibrahim and his uncle Mahesh Bhatt warned him against it.

01:45Imran said his uncle told him his career would be over if he portrayed such a character.

01:49Dawood Ibrahim exerted influence in the film industry during the 1980s and 90s.

01:54He was said to have financed several films and allegedly pressured directors to sign mandakini,

02:00with whom he was said to be in a relationship.

02:03In 1986, he fled to Dubai after being wanted by the Mumbai police in a murder case.

02:08Pictures of cricket matches from the time showed

02:11Indian celebrities watching the match in his presence in the United Arab Emirates.

02:15Many years later, Sonam Kapoor defended her father,

02:18Anil, for being in one of the photos with Dawood Ibrahim.

02:26In 1993, Ibrahim was accused of being one of the masterminds of bomb blasts in Mumbai,

02:32which killed 257 people.

02:34It is said that his influence over Bollywood declined in the 1990s.

02:38At the same time, one of his associates, Abu Salim, became one of the prominent names.

02:43His notoriety as an extortionist preceded him.

02:46His affair with actor Monica Bedi was also one of the most talked-about

02:50affairs between someone from the underworld and Bollywood.

02:53He allegedly threatened filmmakers to hire her, but she said she disagreed with this claim.

02:59According to Deccan Chronicle, Abu Salim's claim to fame came in

03:021997 when he was accused of killing music mogul Gulshan Kumar.

03:07Shah Rukh Khan, who emerged as a star in the 90s,

03:10also fell on Salim's radar for refusing a film that the gangster's producer friend was making.

03:15One time, when he was shooting for Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Salim called Shah Rukh and said,

03:20People tell me that you are conceited, but you're a decent man.

03:24Now you don't need the police. I won't kill you.

03:26But the star was worried for his and his family's safety since he knew Salim was watching him.

03:31It was like living under a telescope. It was very depressing and very scary, said Shah Rukh.

03:36Abu Salim also allegedly attempted to kill filmmakers Rajiv Rai,

03:40Rakesh Roshan and Manmohan Shetty.

03:42Rakesh Roshan took bullets to his chest and arm right after Kahona Pyaar Hai's release.

03:48His son Hrithik said he wanted to withdraw from acting but had to see through his commitments.

03:53In 2011, Wikileaks released a United States diplomatic cable which said,

03:58The industry also welcomed funds from gangsters and politicians looking for

04:01ways to launder their ill-gotten gains known in India as black money.

04:05A cable typically refers to diplomatic communications between a country's foreign

04:09office and its embassies or consulates worldwide.

04:12And the one that Wikileaks released had been issued from the U.S. consulate in Mumbai.

04:17While this nexus between Bollywood and the crime world used to be overt,

04:21at least until the early 2000s, it seemed to have died down,

04:25especially after the film industry was recognised

04:27as an industry that could be funded through legitimate channels.

04:30But then, when Baba Siddiqui was shot dead in 2024,

04:34it became the first high-profile assassination case in about three decades,

04:39with speculations about the world of crime and Bollywood surfacing once again.

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