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Crime gangs target Bollywood money
MUMBAI, India (CNN) -- Bollywood, the world's biggest movie-making center, is facing its worst crisis as criminal gangs target its growing cash flow. The latest twist in the Bollywood's real-life script is the arrest of film producer Abbas Rizvi and diamond merchant Bharat Shah, whose investments in the film business are estimated to be worth $200 million. The two were taken into police custody in late December and early January and charged under the Organized Crime Act with abetting organized crime. Their case is said to be the tip of the Bollywood crime iceberg. "We have enough evidence to link the underworld dons Dawood Ibrahim, Chotta Shakeel and Chotta Rajan to Bollywood." says D. Sivanandan, Joint Commissioner of Mumbai police. ``We have just begun the cleansing process. Sadly, there are only a few good men left in Bollywood."
India's answer to Hollywood churns out about 175 films a year. In the last five years, movie making expenses have increased fivefold to the point where it costs about $2 million to produce an A-grade movie. As costs rise, so too is the target market changing. "Besides India, there is a huge market overseas, mainly the US, UK, Middle East and the Far East, which has a growing Asian population hungry for Indian movies," notes film analyst Komal Nahata. "Naturally, the packaging, star cast and locales matter, since it's the overseas audience which is bringing in the greenbacks." And nowadays, even before the film is released, producers are able to cover their costs, thanks to logos, music and film distribution rights. Analysts say overseas rights fetch about $3 million each. It is this slice of the pie that the underworld is hoping to grab. Also, making money without physically getting into Indian territory. In recent times, several film producers have been intimidated into parting with the distribution rights for lucrative territories to names recommended by the gangsters. It is alleged that Rakesh Roshan, producer of the superhit Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, and father of current Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan was shot at by the Dubai-based gangster Chotta Shakeel after he refused to part with overseas distribution rights.
``Several producers are being threatened but they don't come to us. There are others who relent, and then become conduits for the gangsters. It is this group we are investigating'', says D Sivanandan. The underworld has traditionally been interested in Mumbai, home to the country's purse strings. As property prices began to skyrocket in early 1990, gangsters targeted real estate developers, extorting money from them. But after the property boom ended in 1995, the gangs began turning their attention to the film industry. A police crackdown and inter-gang rivalry in recent years forced most mafia dons to seek refuge and operate from bases abroad. However, that has not stopped them. "Using cellphones, the mafia contacts film producers either asking them to shell out huge sums, demanding financially lucrative overseas distribution rights or ensuring that movie stars dance to their tunes. Basically, it's coercion," says Sivanandan. Now, armed with taped conversations allegedly between Bollywood film industry bigwigs and gangsters Chotta Shakeel and Karachi-based Dawood Ibrahim, police are confident of netting bigger fish. "We are gathering evidence and once we have enough, we will not spare those with criminal links," Sivanandan says. Police sources indicate that many more heads, including those of well connected politicians and a few film stars, are likely to roll in the days to come. RELATED SITES:
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