Scenes Of The Mafia

THE title of Nazim Hassan Rizvi's latest biopic turned out to be ironically prophetic. When the producer of the forthcoming Chori Chori Chupke Chupke (Stealthily and Silently)—starring Salman Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta—was nabbed in a stealth operation by Mumbai police's crime branch last week, it turned out that Rizvi's labour of love had not exactly been pristine. Rizvi stood accused of allegedly plotting attacks on film stars and funnelling mob money into his film.

It was fear over Bollywood once again. Fuelling rumours that mob money and power weighed heavy in one of the world's busiest film industries was the interrogation of diamond merchant and top film financier Bharat Shah by the police over the weekend. Reports quoting crime branch sources also indicated the possible involvement of a former minister of state and a pmo official. However, Mumbai police commissioner M.N. Singh denied that any politician was linked to the case.

The fir filed against Rizvi mentions that he'd planned to kill Rakesh Roshan and his son Hrithik, and also threatened Venus Music's Ratan Jain. The police said the plan had the backing of Chhota Shakeel, the Dubai-based right-hand man of Dawood Ibrahim. The latter is living in Karachi under the protection of Pakistan's isi. Rizvi apparently also threatened Ajay Devgan to make him change the release date of his production Raju Chacha so that it didn't clash with the December 28 release of Chori Chori Chupke Chupke.

The seriousness of the police initiative has shocked the industry. The question many are now asking is: 'what's the definition of involvement? If we've made a film with a man who later turns out to be a frontman of the underworld, are we going to jail?' But in Bollywood's murky world, this is turning out to be a feeble defence. Maharasthra deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal even said that there was "enough information to suggest that Chhota Shakeel was the financier (of the film) and producer Rizvi acted as a frontman". Top film personalities in Bollywood do not deny that some films are made with underworld money. But they insist that it's just a section of the industry that's married to the mob. It's also clear that the mob's power is quite a factor: scared actors sign films under pressure—or so they claim—and travel to mob-sponsored jamborees abroad. As a leading actor says, "If they ask me to dance, I dance because I want to live and I love my family." This fear goes with a lack of faith in the police. Says the actor, "Once I was talking on the phone to an extortionist in Dubai. A cop was sitting next to me and he was getting irritated as I kept addressing this goon as 'sir'. But what can I do? This man was telling me he'll finish off my family."

While Rizvi has been accused of forcing top stars to sign his films, even lesser beings aren't spared. Second rung actors, who have just entered the industry, are also being targeted by mafia-backed frontmen who want to produce movies. A close friend of new actor Aftab explains how, when the actor was all set to do a film with Preeti Jhangiani of Mohabatein fame, "some goons walked into his house and tore out pages from his diary. They told him he should cancel all dates for the film and make himself available for another film". A close associate of Bharat Shah says the businessman too was forced to work with Rizvi. Says Shah, "I don't say the industry is full of saints. If there is smoke, there has to be a fire.Some people may be involved. But what I'm trying to say is that just because the producer of the film I've financed is found to be the underworld's frontman, why am I too looked at with suspicion? I deal with Rizvi as a financier. What he does when he gets back home is not my problem. How can I always know the background of everybody I work with? How can I ask them about their background? And why do I need anybody's money when I can support my own film?"

Shah says Chori Chori.... was made on a Rs 13-crore budget and he could account for every paisa spent. He believes the police should have first visited his office and checked the records instead of tainting his reputation. "If this is the way things are done in this country, I think I should quit financing films. It's a very small part of my business anyway." Sounds logical, but then hobnobbing with the mob even unknowingly can spell danger. The police don't rule out the possibility of the mafia being a convenient conduit to take money out of the country. A top commercial director who has dealt with his quota of extortion calls in the past, believes that the only way the industry can come clean is by going public. Says he: "I cannot confirm or deny if the mafia is being used a conduit, but my point is that every Indian industry is involved in such a thing. Why zero in on the Hindi film industry alone? Because it's glamourous?"

Producer-director Mahesh Bhatt points out that all forms of association the film industry has had with the underworld were born out of fear. Says he: "Some chaps may have consciously wanted to be associated with the underworld but mostly everybody else succumbed out of fear, as they didn't have full faith in the police." Others like former actor and bjp strongman Shatrughan Sinha feel the role of politicians in Bollywood's slush money should be investigated. He says: "I have complete faith in the integrity of the police commissioner and so I hope this episode is not being played up to dilute the more serious issue of politicians' involvement in the whole mess. Most film personalities who have suffered at the hands of the underworld know that they cannot trust the politicians, and by extension, even the police."

But Sinha also says that since the whole issue is so nebulous that there aren't any immediate solutions. "How can there be a medicine when there is no diagnosis?" Though joint police commissioner Shivanandan is highly respected—and there's a general perception in the industry that the Rizvi episode happened due to his initiative—Bollywood has often chosen to obey the underworld instead of seeking protection from the police. A senior cop points out that in some ways even the police doesn't have a high opinion about the film industry. "Some of these film people do not know how to treat the police. There've been times when they call some minister in Delhi and we hear of the complaint from the minister's office. It's so embarrassing to be bypassed." The industry too seems to have decided to make the menace official only recently. As former Mumbai police commissioner Julio Ribeiro points out, "The underworld menace may have existed during my time but we never received complaints. The whole issue seems to have come to the forefront only recently."

But for people like Bharat Shah, the police was the only solution to the underworld menace. Though he says that "the cops don't understand the working of the film business", he admits that it was the police that took all the dirty calls from mysterious men."I have often heard the police personnel using really foul language to someone or the other on the phone. That's the language of communication between the police and the underworld. I don't understand it. So I let them handle it."

Interestingly, the Rizvi episode has focused attention not only on Chhota Shakeel's workings but has also highlighted the operations of Abu Salem.Both these gangsters belong to rival factions. And a crime branch official avers that the industry itself is divided between these two groups. While the Rizvi episode has made a lot of noise and helped bring many popular rumours to the surface, what will be interesting to watch in the coming days is just how much dirt it will kick up. The police says many more actors and film personalities are involved and that their names would surface in the days to come. Bollywood, it seems, may just produce more villains than heroes.