Split wide open

This story of Chhota Shakeel and his famous phone dialogues with Bollywood bigwigs is two years old, let us not forget. When the Express cam...

This story of Chhota Shakeel and his famous phone dialogues with Bollywood bigwigs is two years old, let us not forget.

When the Express came up with transcripts of the taped conversations between film financier Bharat Shah and Chhota Shakeel in December 2000, it created a storm. Not only did Shah find himself in jail shortly thereafter, it raised numerous questions about the sordid world of film financing and highlighted how compromised some of our best-known film personalities were in terms of mafia links.

It was hoped at that stage that this would be the beginning of a massive clean-up. It was hoped that with the concerted moves made by the income tax department and the Intelligence Bureau, in tandem with the Mumbai police, we had at least plumbed the depths of this cess pit and that more decisive steps were on their way. The state even enacted the tough Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act.

Yet, two years down the line, there is the sinking feeling that nothing has changed. Dawood Ibrahim and his men, as also Chhota Rajan and his men, continue to elude the law. Shah is out on bail and remains quite the celebrity-at-large as the ceremonies related to the recent launch of the Rs 50-crore Devdas showed and the wheels of justice continue to grind slow. But what is perhaps the most disturbing aspect of all is that the shadow of the mafia looms as large as ever over Swapnanagari, city of dreams.

The recent shenanigans of Maharashtra8217;s elected representatives bore witness to the presence of large amounts of unaccounted money. The mafia, it seems, doesn8217;t just finance films and real estate, it has made its presence felt in the very core of the state8217;s politics.

Given this reality, the prospect of an authentic clean up would appear a pipe-dream. We may be startled by the intimacy that marks Sanjay Dutt8217;s conversation with Chhota Shakeel. They may just as well have been a couple of brothers discussing life 8212; from sim cards to T-shirts to recalcitrant colleagues.

Evidence that the man at the other end is a professional killer, who thinks nothing of bumping off those who come in his way, may shake us a bit. But then the curtains come down on this episode and public attention shifts to another blockbuster of an event. Yet, with the required political and social will, a transformation can be effected.

Story continues below this ad

Big Apple, thanks to a tough mayor, actually managed to clean up its act. Mumbai needs to do a New York.