Bollywood Faces New Underworld Threats as Recent Attacks Spark Fears

A series of shootings and extortion threats has recently rattled India's film industry, known popularly as Bollywood. Early this month, an audio message claimed responsibility for a shooting targeting Indian actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai, warning that anyone working without aligning with the attackers or working with Salman Khan would be killed. The shots fired at Shroff injured his driver and marked the latest event in a string of attacks against prominent figures in the Mumbai-based film industry.

Since 2022, incidents have included gunfire at actor Salman Khan's apartment, the home of filmmaker Rohit Shetty, and the family home of actor Disha Patani. Actor Ranveer Singh also reportedly received a substantial extortion demand. Furthermore, the violence has extended internationally, with a cafe owned by comedian Kapil Sharma in Surrey, Canada, targeted three times.

These events have revived old fears of the 1990s, when Mumbai's underworld was deeply intertwined with the Hindi film industry. Crime journalist S. Hussain Zaidi noted that mafia bosses of that era were fascinated by the glitz of cinema and used film investments to launder profits and control the industry. Resistance from producers proved deadly in some cases, culminating in the 1997 murder of music mogul Gulshan Kumar and the 2000 shooting of filmmaker Rakesh Roshan. Police subsequently cracked down on the syndicates through specialized laws, electronic surveillance, and preventive detentions, ultimately breaking their grip by the early 2000s.

Modern extortion threats and shootings against actors have revived fears of 1990s Mumbai mafia violence.

Unlike the historical syndicates, the man believed to be behind the current wave originates from northern India rather than Mumbai. Lawrence Bishnoi, a 33-year-old from a landowning family in Punjab, was drawn into student politics before entering a life of crime during his incarceration. Investigators state he currently directs a criminal network from prison using concealed phones and messaging apps. His syndicate has since expanded internationally, with Canada designating the Bishnoi gang a terrorist entity in September 2025, and the FBI adding alleged North American leader Satinderjeet Singh to its Ten Most Wanted list.

While Bishnoi comes from an affluent background, his operational shooters are often recruited online from impoverished backgrounds. Experts note that vulnerable youngsters are drawn in by the gang's lore and promises of money, protection, and weapons.

Why it matters

A wave of shootings and extortion threats has rattled India's film industry. This time, those claiming responsibility are very different from the Mumbai underworld that had Bollywood in its grip back in the 1990s.