Bollywood is already grappling with issues like a lack of original content and a diminishing talent pool, but now it faces a disturbing resurgence of underworld threats. Recently, well-known stars such as Salman Khan and Shahrukh Khan have received extortion calls, raising alarms about the film industry’s susceptibility to criminal influence.
The situation escalated when Salman Khan received menacing messages from gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who is currently incarcerated in a Gujarat jail. Following these threats, other major stars, including Shahrukh Khan, also received extortion calls. Security agencies have even advised Khan to forgo his traditional birthday greeting from his terrace, disappointing the thousands of fans who gathered outside his home on November 2 to celebrate his 59th birthday.
The revival of underworld threats adds a troubling dimension to Bollywood’s ongoing challenges. With cinema chains increasingly relying on re-releases of classic films and a noticeable generational gap among leading stars, these security concerns exacerbate the industry’s crisis. The aging icons of Bollywood are not only facing career uncertainties but are also contending with safety issues reminiscent of the 1990s, a time when underworld influence was at its height.
For the moment, fans, stars, and security agencies are on high alert, hoping that this latest chapter in Bollywood’s underworld saga will calm down before it escalates further.
