📌 Key Points
- Ram Gopal Varma highlights the underworld’s deep influence on Bollywood in the 90s.
- Gangsters used fear tactics to control stars and extort money from producers.
- Rakesh Roshan survived an attack after refusing to give Hrithik’s dates under pressure.
- Gulshan Kumar’s murder shocked the industry due to his resistance to extortion.
Ram Gopal Varma revisits the 90s, exposing the Mumbai underworld’s control over Bollywood. He details how gangsters targeted figures like Rakesh Roshan and Gulshan Kumar to instill fear and extort money, highlighting a turbulent era for the film industry.
The Underworld’s Grip on 90s Bollywood
He stressed that the motive went beyond money; it was about control and power. By intimidating major stars, they aimed to establish authority. Referring to actors like Hrithik Roshan, RGV noted that access to such stars wasn’t easy, so fear became a tactic. “If someone refused, the idea was to create an example, ‘Look what happened to him; it can happen to you too,’” he said, citing the underworld saying: “Kill one, extort money from ten.”
Targeting Roshan and Kumar: Fear and Extortion
On January 21, 2000, gunmen attacked him outside his office in what was widely believed to be an act of retaliation. He survived the incident. In a later interview, Rakesh recalled refusing to allocate Hrithik’s dates despite repeated pressure, describing that time as one filled with fear.
RGV suggested that figures like Abu Salem may have seen the act as a way to build their own reputation within the underworld. He also noted that Gulshan had reportedly resisted extortion demands and was not easily intimidated.
Ram Gopal Varma’s Real-Life Inspiration
Recalling the day of the murder, RGV said he was at producer Jhamu Sugandh’s house when news of the incident broke, leaving those around him shaken.
The era was marked by an unspoken atmosphere of fear, with occasional images surfacing of film personalities alongside underworld figures, particularly in the Middle East. RGV, who has explored these themes in films like Satya, Company, and D, said many of his stories draw directly from these real-life experiences.
Varma’s insights reveal a dark chapter in Bollywood’s history, where fear and violence shaped the industry. His films reflect the real-life terror inflicted by crime syndicates seeking power and control, leaving a lasting impact.
