Why Bollywood Dances on tunes of Islamic Underworld Terrorists?
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Mumbai, the maximum city, the city of dreams is well known for its flourishing film industry, Bollywood, and its organized crime syndicate, the Islamic Underworld Terrorist Mafia
The intertwined network of the film industry and the underworld terrorist is a well-established fact, yet the magnitude of these connections was realized when the Terrorist mafia started extorting money and threatening these movie stars.
Over the years, the interactions between the much-celebrated Hindi film industry and the infamous Pakistan sponsored Underworld Terrorist Mafia have been no secret. The tussle between these two has reverberated throughout the 90s.
The rise of the terror mafia coincided with the increasing woes of Bollywood. Bollywood’s liaison with the mafia began when government regulations restricted the access of Bollywood to legitimate means of financing. Mumbai’s infamous terror mafia whose links go back to Pakistan deep state, had by then established their stronghold on the city and had accumulated tremendous wealth to shell out big bucks for the movies. This was a way out for the mafia to launder the black money.
Bollywood has had a toxic relationship with the underworld- 0n the one hand the mafia has produced Bollywood movies, while on the other it has threatened the film industry’s directors, actors, and producers.
Mumbai’s original Terrorist often called “Mumbai Don”, Haji Mastan was the first to forage into the blingy world of the Hindi film industry. He produced movies of his mistress to support her budding acting career. He even had celebrity friends like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Dharmendra, Firoze Khan, and Sanjeev Kumar. Called by the name of ‘Celebrity Gangster’, he captivated Bollywood. Even though his films bombed at the box office, he grew to the stature of a celebrity.
While the grasp of the underworld gradually lessened with the advent of the studio system, the industry’s obsession with these larger-than-life stories didn’t. The smugglers of gold, diamonds, and sundry other items of the 70s morphed into dreaded mob bosses and the industry’s portrayal of them gave them broad strokes of glamour.
The primary purpose of this was to launder the black money of the terrorist mafia. The second reason could be the stardom the terrorist mafia would get due to their association with the film stars. The terrorist mafia also dabbled with film piracy, counterfeiting, and distribution of films. It even exercised hegemony over the kind of films being made during the period.
With the 80s and 90s came the underworld’s increased interest in the industry. What started as summoning a star to meet friends or family, or probably be a part of a wedding soon turned into a business. Underworld mafia terrorists started investing money in films – picking distribution rights of films and even financing them. Where money power didn’t work, coercion came in handy. “A phone call from the “Bhai” could make a recalcitrant top star say yes to films and threats could get film rights”.
Bollywood stars at times flaunt their organized crime connections and even attend well-publicized events hosted by the mafia dons. The gangsters too love exhibiting their filmy associations as a sign of prestige and power in this Bollywood-crazed country. Dawood Ibrahim, the most wanted terrorist by the Indian Government, supported by the Pakistani Government and its military famously invited Bollywood A-listers to his parties and events in Dubai and Sharjah[1].
The photos of top underworld terrorist leaders with superstars of the era are no secret. It is said that Terrorist Chota Shakeel’s man Rizvi went to film set several times with a briefcase full of cash, asking to meet the director and demanding that he should make a film for them. In fact, one of the top actors today — who was just starting out then – hid in his vanity van for hours to escape the aide of an underworld boss who was waiting for him on film sets. The lack of transparency in the industry’s financial matters made it a perfect way to launder money.
Whether it was any underworld terrorist, Dawood Ibrahim or Abu Salem, no one was immune to the charms of the industry. Making it their business was the logical next step. In fact, author S Hussain Zaidi has famously said that terrorist Abu Salem wanted only ‘fame, fame, fame’. And what could be a better way of grasping it than the glamour industry?
Underworld Terrorists has always shown its interest in Bollywood movies and its leading men and ladies. There have been many such instances when they were seen with Bollywood actors or threatened. The film industry’s relationship with the “D-Company” is considered the worst kept secret.
Some of the connections of Bollywood Actors with underworld Terrorist are as below: –
Popular singer Gulshan Kumar had faced extortion from terrorist leader Dawood Ibrahim. When he refused to pay any amount, the T-Series owner was shot in broad daylight in 1997. It is said that Islamic terrorist Abu Salem also played a crucial role in that incident.
The assassination attempt on Rakesh Roshan in 2001 proved the heights at which the Indian mafia would go to reap profits. The bone of contention here was the rights of a particular film of Roshan’s that he refused to sell to the organized crime syndicate.
In a separate incident, a bunch of goons stormed into the office of the producer and demanded money. These aren’t isolated incidences.
In the past celebrities like Karan Johar, Amrish Puri and Hrithik Roshan have sought police protection due to threats from the underworld. These threats and physical assaults basically implied that if one didn’t agree with the terms of the mafia, it would lead to a fatal end.
Many of the celebrities were linked with the underworld mafia at some time or the other. For some, the connections proved advantageous as they could easily bag roles in movies, while for some, it resulted in life threats and extortion.
So, the makers got ready-made stories replete with ruthless hunger for power, money in the underworld sags. And one particular man, Dawood Ibrahim, figuring in most of them. The fact that most of these gang lords came from slums or the underbelly of various cities added yet another layer of romanticism to the narrative
Eventually, the law was amended in 2002 to allow the film industry to qualify for bank credit, but by then the mafia’s reach had deeply penetrated Bollywood’s finances. The amendment in the law led to the further corporatization of Bollywood, it was now recognized as a legitimate industry. Yet, the ties between the mafia and the film industry did not falter. The underworld continued to invest in the films and the Bollywood continued to have gangsters as producers.
In the never-ending list of Bollywood movies based on Islamic Underworld Terrorists, a few mentioned here are Satya, Company, Vaastav, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, Agneepath… and Daddy[3]……
Now the Big Question is — Why Bollywood is obsessed with the underworld.?
The role of a gangster is a de rigueur before earning stripes and establish in the industry. However, dig a little and the relationship – at its roots — is symbiotic. Just as the industry came to be obsessed with crime syndicates, the Mumbai underworld was obsessed with the glitz, glamour, and fame that only movies could provide them.
Mahesh Manjrekar’s Vaastav was based on terrorist Chota Rajan’s life and was a huge success. Ram Gopal Varma understood the pull of these stories and delivered some of his best works such as Satya and Company.
Shootout at Lokhandwala, Shootout at Wadala, Once Upon a Time in Mumbai, and D Day are just a few of the successful films that followed in the genre.
Arjun Rampal starrer Daddy where he plays Arun Gawli – yet another Mumbai don who came out of nowhere to rule his own kingdom – and Haseena Parker where Shraddha Kapoor will play Ibrahim’s sister. Even as the discussion has shifted to whether the underworld holds relevance anymore, one thing is for sure – the cinema on the subject sure does.
How Long Islamic Underworld Terror Mafia Acts as “Robespierre Coryphaeus” And Bollywood behaves as its “Thrall”???
[1] The Indian Mafia’s Influence on Bollywood (indianfolk.com)
[2] 13 Popular Bollywood Celebrities And Their Rumoured Underworld Connections (postoast.com)
[3] Before Daddy: Here’s why Bollywood and underworld refuse to break-up | Hindustan Times
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