We Had No Choice… Just Danced’: IPS Officer Reveals Bollywood’s Underworld Struggle in the 1990s

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The 1990s Hindi film industry was not just a hub of creativity but also a playground for the underworld, a fact confirmed by several filmmakers and stars. In a recent interview, D. Shivanandan, former Joint Police Commissioner (Crime) Mumbai, recalled the era when Bollywood actors and filmmakers were compelled to follow the underworld’s diktats.

According to Shivanandan, notorious gangsters like Dawood Ibrahim and Abu Salem had significant influence over the industry. “Movies like Satya, Company, Daddy, Shootout at Wadala, and Shootout at Lokhandwala were funded by gangsters to shape their public image,” he revealed. Even iconic 1970s films such as Deewar and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar were reportedly influenced by underworld financing.

Shivanandan highlighted how the underworld controlled every aspect of film production. “Dawood Ibrahim could summon actresses to Dubai, reward them, and send them back. I once saw a top actor travel with 83 musicians and actors for an event for Dawood’s daughter in Dubai,” he recalled.

Actors were reportedly forced to comply. Recalling Bollywood star Govinda’s words, Shivanandan said, “‘What can we do? We just danced and came back.’ There was no way to refuse, and we had no means to ensure their safety.” The fear was so real that filmmakers believed their lives were at risk. The tragic murder of T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar is cited as a grim example of underworld brutality.

Stars were often compelled to take loans from the underworld at interest rates as high as 60-80%. Shivanandan noted that police interventions gradually reduced the underworld’s grip, allowing alternative funding channels to emerge, bringing relative relief to Bollywood’s creative community.