Copyright news18
The Hindi film industry of the 1990s, often romanticised for its music and masala blockbusters, had a far darker reality behind the camera. According to former Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan, Bollywood was then under the complete control of the underworld, with dons like Dawood Ibrahim and Abu Salem dictating everything from funding to casting. Speaking to ANI, Sivanandhan said that several well-known films of the decade — including Satya, Company, Daddy, Shootout at Lokhandwala and Shootout at Wadala — were allegedly “funded and financed” by the mafia. “These films were made to lift the image of the gangsters. They were all funded and financed by them only,” he said. He added that even older cult classics like Deewaar and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar were influenced by similar forces. Interestingly, actor Mohanlal’s role in Ram Gopal Varma’s Company was inspired by Sivanandhan himself. Recalling the extent of the don’s power, the former top cop revealed shocking details. “Dawood Ibrahim could summon all the cinema actresses to Dubai and give them rewards and send them back,” he said. He remembered seeing “one of the topmost actors” travel with nearly 80 other performers to Dubai to entertain Dawood’s daughter. “I saw them going on a special flight and coming back,” he added. According to Sivanandhan, many actors and producers at the time were forced into such situations out of fear. “They had no choice (of saying no) and we had no means of protecting them. Let me admit that. We didn’t take action against them,” he said, recalling how actor Govinda once admitted that he too had to dance for the don. “‘Hum kya karein? Jaake naach ke aayein hai (What can we do? We had to go and dance),’” Govinda had reportedly told him. Sivanandhan said the fear was real — producers faced threats and even feared being eliminated. “Remember Gulshan Kumar?” he asked, referencing the daylight murder of the T-Series founder in Mumbai, carried out by the underworld. He explained that, before the government formally recognised filmmaking as an industry, producers relied on illegal money for survival. “They would take loans at 60-80 percent interest. If they didn’t give that, hell would break loose on the fellow who is a defaulter,” he said. According to him, it was only after major police operations between 1998 and 2001 that Bollywood finally began moving away from the grip of organised crime and towards legitimate financing.
