Bollywood echo in London: What am I to say?

In Los Angeles, film-maker Rajiv Rai was turning in for the night when we told him about Abu Salem and Monica Bedi’s extradition. &#145...

In Los Angeles, film-maker Rajiv Rai was turning in for the night when we told him about Abu Salem and Monica Bedi’s extradition. ‘‘What’s happened? I have no clue. I’ve been out of touch with this matter for eight years. What am I to say for Christ’s sake?” was his unguarded reaction.

In 2000, after a series of extortion threats and an attempt on his life, the Tridev director had to flee the country. These days, he lives in London.

Incidentally, Bedi was one of the leading ladies of his 2001 film Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat. It was alleged that her partner Salem forced Rai to sign her. ‘‘I had to relocate because things were difficult,’’ is all he will say.

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The government’s legal victory has once again refreshed the neverending Bollywood-Underworld nexus. Almost all top actors, directors and producers have received the dreaded midnight call — Subhash Ghai, JP Dutta, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Amrish Puri, Preity Zinta, Pahlaj Nihalani, Mahesh Bhatt, Karan Johar and Hrithik Roshan.

‘‘People would call up saying they represent a particular mafia goon. The don never called himself,” recalls Bhatt. “Someone would leave a number and threaten that if you don’t get back there will be trouble.’’

It’s well chronicled how Rakesh Roshan reportedly refused to sell the overseas rights of Kaho Na Pyar Hai to Chhota Shakeel and nearly ended up paying with his life. J P Dutta was attacked by Salem’s men for the same reason, and he, too, narrowly escaped. Mumbai police unearthed a plot to kill Aamir Khan and director Ashutosh Gowariker who spurned underworld extortion attempts following the success of Lagaan in 2001.

Others have not been so lucky. T-Series founder Gulshan Kumar was gunned down by underworld killers in 1997. Ajit Dewani, secretary to actress Manisha Koirala and actor Aftab Shivdasani, was killed in 2001.

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Post 9/11, things have become better for Bollywood. The status of industry has also made film financing more transparent. Yet, nobody wants to talk about the underworld.

Bhatt calls it the “politics of silence’’. The general belief in the film industry is that if they don’t talk about the other side then it’ll go away. Surely then one can’t blame director David Dhawan who’s unwilling to discuss Bedi, one of the stars in his 2001 film Jodi No.1. “I don’t want to comment on anything of this nature. Please understand.”