Bollywood bolsters security as underworld fears return

MUMBAI: It sounds like a Bollywood thriller, but a spate of shootings and extortion threats targeting Mumbai’s stars has sent the industry scrambling for bodyguards, reviving memories of the underworld’s grip on cinema in the 1990s.

From gunshots to cash demands, the incidents have unsettled the Indian industry, decades after police crackdowns weakened the criminal gangs once deeply embedded in the multi-billion-dollar business.

Police have linked the latest violence to the gang of Lawrence Bishnoi, a convicted Indian gangster accused by US prosecutors of directing a global criminal network from behind bars.

“Stars are moving around with bodyguards on either side,” actor and security agency owner Ronit Roy said.

“There has been a sharp increase in demand … Requests have expanded beyond just lead actors, to include family members and children.”

Author S Hussain Zaidi, a former investigative journalist, said opportunistic criminals were exploiting the notoriety of established gangsters.

“Some desperadoes are opening fire in the air to scare the industry and spread fear,” Zaidi told AFP.

“And they have succeeded – as people have started believing that the mafia-dominated 1990s era is back.”

The latest incidents include gunfire targeting actor Tiger Shroff’s car in Mumbai in October, and an alleged US$600,000 extortion demand against actor Tusshar Kapoor.

Police have arrested 13 people under organised crime laws in connection with the October shooting, alleging it was intended to extort money, establish gang dominance and spread fear.

Police said there had also been surveillance of other prominent figures.

They have named Anil Pandit, an alleged Bishnoi gang member, as wanted in connection with the shooting.

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Anxiety reverberating across the industry has spilt into public view.

Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan recently greeted fans from behind a bulletproof enclosure outside his Mumbai home during his customary Sunday appearance, while security was beefed up around actor Shah Rukh Khan’s home for his birthday.