Kumar Sanu recalls singing for Dawood Ibrahim, defying police warning over Abu Salem show

“I sang in Dubai once. Nadeem ji took me there. It was either Dawood’s brother’s daughter’s birthday or his own daughter’s birthday. Anu Malik and I were there. Dawood Ibrahim was there; I saw him sitting in front of me,” he told Lallantop.

Sanu said the guests requested songs that he usually performed on stage.

“They requested all those songs that I sing on stage. Dawood Ibrahim was sitting right in front of me with his family. After that, I never met him again nor did I speak to him,” he said.

The singer said he did not know enough about the people involved when he was taken to the event.

“We didn’t know much about them earlier. A music director was taking me, so I had nothing to do with it. They didn’t tell me whose show I was going to. They just said, ‘Come, you have to sing at a birthday party in Dubai.’”

It was only after photographs from the event appeared in the newspapers that he realised what had happened.

“Later, when my photo appeared in the newspaper, I thought, ‘What have I done?’ That was when I got scared,” he recalled.

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Kumar Sanu says police warned him against Abu Salem’s show

Sanu also recalled another incident when he was asked to perform at a show associated with gangster Abu Salem. He said someone had approached him for money, but he refused, offering to help by singing instead.

“Someone called me and said, ‘Give us this much money.’ I said, ‘Sorry, we won’t be able to give money. If there is some work, tell me. If you want me to sing, tell me.’ I even went to Dubai once to perform at Abu Salem’s show. There is nothing to be scared of or hide about this,” Sanu said.

He said the police contacted him before the trip and warned him against going.

“The police station also called me and said, ‘You are going to perform at Abu Salem’s show?’ I said yes, I am going. What should I do? The police officers said, ‘You shouldn’t go.’ I said, ‘We won’t go, but you give me security.’ If he shoots me, tell me, what am I supposed to do? You give me security,” he recalled.

According to Sanu, the police also warned him that he could be arrested if he went.

“He said, ‘If you go, we will arrest you there.’ I said, ‘Look, either you give me security or give me an assurance that nothing will happen to me. I am a singer. I have to sing; it is my compulsion.’”

Sanu said the police did not agree to his request, but he went ahead with the performance.

“I went, sang and came back. Nobody said anything. I went, performed, returned to the hotel, collected my luggage and came back. The very thing for which I was threatened, I went and did that work, I sang and came back safely.”

Kumar Sanu says he stayed away from the underworld

Explaining why Bollywood became so closely connected to the underworld during that period, Sanu said the money involved was a major factor.

“Most of the financing for films used to come from these people, so whoever gave the money would rule. That is what used to happen,” he said.

Sanu, however, said he did not delve too deeply into what was happening around him and instead focused on keeping himself safe.

“I didn’t go into much detail or think about it. Whatever was happening, I just kept myself safe and stayed away from everyone. That’s why I was fine, I survived. Nobody’s attention fell on me,” he said.

Bollywood and underworld connection in the 90s

The relationship between Mumbai’s underworld and Bollywood dates back to the 1960s, but became far more prominent in the late 1980s and 1990s, with allegations of film financing, casting interference and actors being forced to perform at “Dubai parties”.

According to former Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan, several films of that era were believed to have been funded by the underworld. “Films like Satya, Company, Daddy, Shootout At Wadala, Shootout At Lokhandwala were made to lift the image of the gangsters. They were all funded and financed by them only,” he claimed in an interview with ANI.

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

The violence of 1997, including the killing of Gulshan Kumar, was followed by a major shift in Bollywood financing. In 2000, the government granted the industry “Industry Status”, allowing filmmakers to access legitimate bank loans.

The 2001 Chori Chori Chupke Chupke case further exposed the nexus when financier Bharat Shah and producer Nazim Rizvi were arrested and the film was linked to Chhota Shakeel. The case became a turning point, accelerating Bollywood’s move towards legitimate and corporate financing.

DISCLAIMER: This article reflects personal accounts and historical context regarding underworld influences in the film industry and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. Readers are advised to view these retrospective experiences in their appropriate historical setting and not as formal or legal commentary.