Farah Khan Says Bollywood Stars Faced 'Underworld Pressure' In The 90s: "The Three Khans Were Under Pressure"

Filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan recently spoke about the period in the 1990s when the Mumbai underworld's presence in the Hindi film industry was widely discussed. 

What's Happening

• During a conversation with Ranveer Allahbadia on his podcast, Farah reflected on the atmosphere of fear in Bollywood at the time and recalled incidents involving producers and filmmakers.
• In the 1990s, the Hindi film industry saw several controversies linked to organised crime. 
• Actors and producers reportedly received extortion calls, gangsters were alleged to have financed films, and a few prominent figures in the industry were killed.

'I Had Just Started My Career When Mukesh Duggal Was Shot'

Farah said one of the incidents she clearly remembers is the murder of producer Mukesh Duggal in 1997.

"I remember I was on a film set. I had just started my career when Mukesh Duggal was shot," she said.

Duggal, known for producing films such as Fateh, Saathi, Dil Ka Kya Kasoor and Khilona, was shot dead at his office in Seven Bungalows in Andheri in 1997.

'The Three Khans Were Under Pressure'

During the conversation, Allahbadia asked Farah whether the industry's biggest stars at the time - Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan - also faced pressure from the underworld.

Farah confirmed that they did. "Yes," she said.

When asked specifically about reports that Shah Rukh Khan had received threatening calls, Farah said she was not aware of the details of that particular episode.

Threats Around The Premiere Of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai

Farah also recalled a tense moment when filmmaker Karan Johar allegedly received threats from the underworld around the time his debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was about to premiere.

"I don't know about Shah Rukh getting calls, but I do know that during the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai premiere, Karan Johar had received threats from the underworld. It was very scary. Everyone was discussing whether the premiere should be cancelled or not. Security was increased, but we eventually went ahead with it. Karan was extremely stressed, imagine it's your first film and instead of celebrating it, you're worrying about something like this," she said.

Karan Johar had earlier written about the episode in his autobiography An Unsuitable Boy. Recalling the moment, he described how his mother received a threatening call linked to gangster Abu Salem.

He wrote, "The phone rang. My mother picked it up, and it was a call from the underworld. A man's voice said, 'Your son's wearing a red T-shirt, I can see him right now. And we're going to shoot him if you release this film on Friday.' For some reason, they didn't want the film to be released that Friday; we didn't know why. It was a call from Abu Salem, and my mother was shaking with terror. She put the phone down and ran towards the door."

Johar also wrote about how Shah Rukh Khan reacted when he heard about the threat.

"Shah Rukh said, 'What nonsense!' He went inside and dragged me out. He said, 'I'm standing here in front of you. Let's see who shoots you. I'm standing right here.' I said, 'No, no, no, my mother was...' He told my mother, 'Nothing's gonna happen. I'm a Pathan. Nothing can happen to me and nothing will happen to your son. He's like my brother. Nothing's gonna happen'."

Shah Rukh Khan On Receiving Threatening Calls

In journalist Anupama Chopra's book King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema, Shah Rukh Khan also recalled receiving threatening calls from Abu Salem.

"He would tell me that he could see me. It was like living under a telescope. It was very depressing and very scary," Shah Rukh said.