Bloody killings mar the backdrop of Bollywood films

By P.K.Balachandran

Colombo, October 20 - To the outside world, Bollywood is a delectable cocktail of song, dance, romance, and drama. But behind the scenes, there is the grim reality of violence and bloodshed due to the close involvement of gangster-financiers in film production. Rifts between gangster-financiers and filmmakers result in brutal killings, typically in public view.

The absence of a transparent film-financing system, coupled with the astronomical cost of modern filmmaking, has led to a rush of smugglers, extortionists, and other gangsters into film financing.

Shooting of Actor Tiger Shroff

Mumbai city police are currently investigating a shooting attempt aimed at 36-year-old actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai on October 18. Son of veteran actor Jackie Shroff, Tiger was in a car leaving a football ground when two men fired multiple shots at close range. Shroff and the driver were injured. On Monday, the police caught up with the fleeing suspects in faraway Rajasthan.

A social media post by Anil Pandit, a US-based gangster, claimed responsibility for the attempt on Tiger’s life. “I am Anil Pandit. I and my elder brother Harman Sandhu take responsibility for it. Whoever in the entire film industry works separately from us or works together with Salman Khan, we will kill them. This is the first and final warning," the speaker said.  

Tiger’s father, veteran actor Jackie Shroff, is a close friend of Salman Khan’s.

Addressing Salman Khan, Pandit said: “If you do not apologise to my elder brother Lawrence Bishnoi or to the Bishnoi community, then I will not even leave a dog at your house. We will destroy your entire family."  

Salman Khan had enraged the Bishnoi community by killing a blackbuck considered to be sacred by that Bishnoi community.

The attack on Tiger Shroff sent shockwaves through Bollywood, with celebrities raising concerns about their safety since several actors and political figures had been targeted by gunmen in Mumbai in recent years.  

Times Now News points out that from the days when Bombay’s crime syndicates started financing films, they had sought influence over the industry and those who crossed their path were mercilessly gunned down. One of the early cases was the killing of film producer Javed Riyaz Siddiqui in June 1994. Producer Firoz Sarfraz Khan was shot at in July 1994. On March 7, 1997, producer and director Mukesh Duggal was shot dead in his office in Andheri. Duggal had produced films including Fateh, Saathi and Platform. There were reports of his connections with members of rival criminal networks, and investigators suspected that his killing was linked to the conflict between gangsters Chhota Rajan and Chhota Shakeel.

Salman Khan - Lawrence Bishnoi Clash

The Lawrence Bishnoi gang started targeting Salman Khan after he killed a Black Buck during a hunting expedition in Rajasthan and got off with a light punishment. But to the Bishnois, the killing of a Blackbuck was a sacrilege, an assault on the sentiment of the Bishnois.

In June 2022, a threating letter was found outside Salman Khan's residence. In March 2023, gangster Goldy Brar, linked to Lawrence Bishnoi, sent a threatening email to Salman from the US. Between December 2023 and March 2024, Salman's Panvel farmhouse was under reconnaissance by scores of men of Lawrence Bishnoi's gang. In April 2024, there was firing outside Salman’s Bandra residence. As a warning to Salman, his friend and film producer Riyaz Siddiqui was killed in June 1994.

Gulshan Kumar, the Music mogul and founder of T-Series, was shot dead on August 12, 1997. Assailants reportedly pumped 16 bullets into him. In 2002, Abdul Rauf Dawood Merchant was convicted for Gulshan Kumar’s murder. Mukesh Duggal, a movie producer, was murdered on March 7, 1997, outside his office in Andheri, Mumbai.

Filmmaker Rajiv Rai, who helmed movies like Tridev, Yudh and Vishwatma, was attacked outside his office on July 31, 1997. The attackers were reportedly from gangster Abu Salem's gang. Rai survived. An associate of Abu Salem attempted to shoot producer Manmohan Desai in the same year, but failed. Rakesh Roshan, veteran filmmaker and producer, was shot on January 21, 2000, outside his office in Santacruz. This was after the success of his son Hrithik Roshan's movie, Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and his refusal to force his son to act in a movie financed by a gangster.    

Nazim Rizvi and Bharat Shah were arrested in 2000 for diverting underworld-linked money for movie production. Manisha Koirala's former secretary Ajit Dewani was murdered in 2001 by a sharpshooter of the Abu Salem gang.

Sanjay Dutt's connection to the underworld revolves around his involvement in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case in which he served a jail sentence. It was widely reported that the associates of Dawood Ibrahim had delivered a stock of weapons to him for self-protection during the post-blast riots.

Comedian Kapil Sharma's Kap's Cafe was attacked thrice in Canada in 2025. Kulvir Sandhu of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the attack. In February 2026, four gunshots were heard outside filmmaker Rohit Shetty's Mumbai residence. The Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility. In June 2026, two associates of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang were arrested after they opened fire outside singer Guru Randhawa's gym. According to the police, the shooters were linked to Anil Pandit, who operates from the United States.

In July 2002, Director Lawrence D’Souza, who did Saajan, survived an attack outside his office in Oshiwara. Police suspected the attack was intended to intimidate him into paying extortion money to the Ezaj Lakdawala gang. D’Souza had reportedly received ransom demands over the telephone.

Dawood Ibrahim - Gangster to Film Financier

The original Mumbai don was Haji Mastan, a Tamil-speaking Muslim, But Dawood Ibrahim upstaged him in later years to be the king of Mumbai’s gangsterdom, with bases in Pakistan and Dubai also. Born in Mumbai, Dawood Ibrahim was drawn into crime at an early age and gradually became one of the most feared figures in the Mumbai underworld. Through his vast criminal network, Dawood played a role in funding several high-profile Bollywood productions using his illicit wealth.

Dawood went beyond financing productions to influence casting decisions and production choices also. His choices were enforced by instilling fear. Dawood’s influence seeped into storytelling also. He allegedly shaped narratives to glorify the criminal underworld, projecting ruthless guys as being good guys dedicated to justice. Dawood did his business openly. Actors and actresses attended social events organised by Dawood’s associates in Mumbai and Dubai.

While normally, the participation of criminals in an industry (as in construction) may not have a direct impact on society at large, gangsters’ involvement in the popular film industry has had a very harmful impact on the minds of the youth. Films portraying real-life criminals as larger-than-life characters perpetuate their criminal legacies. As the real-life gangsters had a background of poverty and other kinds of deprivations, their rise to the top by fair means or foul made an interesting subject for films aiming at a mass audience. The expectation of the film-makers was not belied. Many films of this genre were box office hits.

Mahesh Manjrekar’s Vaastav was based on Chota Rajan’s life, was a huge success. Ram Gopal Varma understood the pull of these stories and delivered some of his best works. Shootout at Lokhandwala, Once Shootout at Wadala, and  Upon a Time in Mumbai are just a few of the successful films in that genre.

Coming up next are Arjun Rampal-starrer Daddy, where he plays Arun Gawli – yet another Mumbai don who came out of nowhere to rule his own kingdom.

To curb the influence of the underworld, Bollywood had taken steps to blacklist individuals suspected of having ties to the underworld. Bollywood has also intensified its efforts to collaborate with law enforcement agencies and strengthen legal frameworks. The government of India has also undertaken several initiatives such as increasing surveillance, cracking down on money laundering and enhancing collaboration between law enforcement agencies and film industry bodies.

But the shooting of Tiger Shroff and the continued threat to Salman Khan prove that gangsterism in Bollywood is not dead.  

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