Varun Dhawan recalls ‘funny but scary’ underworld threat to father David Dhawan: ‘My staff started arguing’

“When things escalated, an actor called my dad and said that this had gone out of hand, and that the person was now saying he would come with guns and that he knew our address and office timings. When my dad asked who had said this, he took the staff member’s name. So we had to stay somewhere else that day. It is funny, but it is not funny actually,” he added.

Farah Khan recalls the time when Karan Johat got threats

Farah Khan had earlier spoken about the same period in a conversation with Ranveer Allahbadia.

“I remember I was on a film set. I had just started my career when Mukesh Duggal was shot,” she said. Producer Mukesh Duggal was shot dead in 1997 at his office in Seven Bungalows, Andheri.

Farah also revealed that filmmaker Karan Johar received threats around the time his debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was set 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’s chilling account

Karan Johar himself had detailed the terrifying episode in his autobiography An Unsuitable Boy.

Recalling the moment, 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.”

He also shared how Shah Rukh Khan reacted to the situation.

“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.’”

When Shah Rukh Khan got threats from Abu Salem

In journalist Anupama Chopra’s book King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema, Shah Rukh Khan also spoke about receiving threats from gangster 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.

This article is based on personal accounts, interviews, and published sources, including statements made by individuals involved. The claims and recollections referenced reflect individual experiences and perspectives from a specific period and may not constitute independently verified facts. References to alleged underworld involvement are based on reported accounts from the 1990s and should be viewed in that historical context. Readers are advised to exercise discretion and rely on multiple sources for a comprehensive understanding.