BY VINOD MIRANI
Film folk of yore preferred to keep their private lives to themselves. There was little exposure to the public in real life. All their communication or keeping in touch happened through fan mail. Yes, once every week, you heard a popular star anchoring a film songs slot on the radio which catered to the army personnel. Not only the army, but all music lovers also heard the programme and loved the stars even more.
The stars never made the headlines in the media. That added to the aura of a star. There was a mysticism about them.
Things have changed drastically. The stars are all over you, media, social media, TV shows, ads, just name it. They even expose their fights, one-upmanship, and insecurities in the public domain. They employ teams to manage the social media accounts and most are self-proclaimed No 1 stars. In a not so recent development, many failed actors have been taking anti-establishment stands and ending up ranting antinational comments.
Eventually, frustrations and failed ambitions get the better of them leading them to vent their frustrations on social media, taking to drugs, prostitution and other escapes. But, there are also those who can't handle success and take public adulation as a passport to indulge in whims and fancies and, at times, also crime. Some try to replicate their screen image in real life and here are quite a few examples of that among the present lot of stars.
In the good old days, if a star or a filmmaker made newspaper headlines, it was usually for income tax raids. Now, the stars and their associates make headlines and almost always for wrong reasons! Hoarding black money by stars of yore would look like a petty misdemeanor in comparison. Now, stars, aspirants, hangers-on and others, related to or claiming to be related to the film industry, make headlines for all the wrong reasons. The media loves to blow up the stories if it finds some link to the film industry. It guarantees eyeballs. And, for some time now, they are being given enough opportunities when the names of film people make news for criminal activities.
Where did it all start? That would be the time when the underworld started forcing its say on the film business. It never mattered to the filmmakers where their finance came from a builder, politician, diamond merchant or a smuggler. The money was kosher as long as there was no interference.
But, then came an underworld don and his organisation that had a special fancy for the film folk and their business. They loved to invite stars to visit Dubai, hang around them and do 'naach-gaana' (song and dance). They were sent back with gifts like TV sets, video players and some cash which made more stars go pay their respects. Knowing the don was a boast. The Bhais, as they were known, wanted heroines as companions and they got their wish. The Bhais financed films but, in return, wanted a say in casting for the films, demanding overseas and video rights.
The crime and criminality had made its debut in the film trade. The film industry guys never went to a court of law in case of a dispute, they sought the intervention of the Bhai. Bhai had become the ultimate arbitrator not only for the film trade but also for other businesses. The producers, actors and others were literally puppets in the hands of the Bhais. Because those who did not toe the line of the Bhais, were eliminated which included music baron Gulshan Kumar, producer Mukesh Duggal, star secretary Ajit Dewani and so on.
So far, the film folk were the victims of the underworld. Then came the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts. Turned out that some of the big names in the film trade were accomplices in this attack on the country's financial capital!
After the Mumbai blasts, the perpetrators are sitting happy with the enemy nation and a single star got a sympathetic ear from all concerned and served a symbolic jail term. Strangely, on his release, he was treated as an unfortunate victim and welcomed back as a hero. Others associated had to serve their full jail terms.
Has any other film star or any other prominent personality ever been jailed, whatever the crime? None so far, though the list of wrongdoers is adding up on a regular basis. Looks like the celebrities enjoy amnesty of some kind!
The latest to hit the headlines is Raj Kundra, also known as the husband of once popular actress Shilpa Shetty, said to be a loaded businessman from London. A businessman and loaded are the two things that matter and, hence, was considered a catch for the actress.
Nobody cares for the details. What business nobody cares. His name appeared in the match fixing racket in cricket. In the industry, it was considered normal, so many other rejected and retired actors indulged, too. So, he belonged to the club. From match fixing to part owner of the Rajasthan Royal team, that only added to his prestige.
Now, he has become the latest from the film industry to become a newsmaker for nothing less than involvement in pornography production and taking it online, according to the police and the media. The film folk, as usual, find nothing wrong with this and have nothing to say. Even those film rejects who have an opinion to post on social media about everything from national to international affairs, have shied away from flooding the social media in this case!
The general public reaction to Kundra's arrest is, 'Isko bhi kuchh nahi hoga' -- 'Bhi' is the operative word as in, "He will also go scot-free." Why this perception in the minds of the common man?
There have been some big names involved in major crimes. Anybody else in their place, would have been locked up and, probably, still trying to get bail!
Because stars and others from the film industry have been involved in many wrongdoings over a period. There have been arrests, bails and prolonged court appearances and hearings. The cases move from one court to another but never reach conclusion.
Here are some such stories:
Puru Raaj Kumar, the son of actor Raaj Kumar, ran over as many as eight people with his car, three of whom died. The formalities followed. This was in 1993. He was arrested. He was soon free on the basis that the matter was settled out of court! Is blood money allowed in India? Does the law allow such a settlement in case of causing death?
In 1998, music baron Gulshan Kumar, the man who changed the way the music industry worked, made celebrities out of aspiring singers, was brutally shot down outside a temple in Juhu, Mumbai. This daylight murder was attributed to the underworld but also named as suspects were Nadeem, the music director, and a music company owner, Ramesh Taurani. Nadeem fled. The trigger puller, one Rauf, a supari killer, was convicted in 1997, but his life sentence has been confirmed only now. In between, he was jailed, absconded and now jailed again after 24 years of the crime.
Fardeen Khan, the son of actor Feroz Khan, was booked for attempt to buy nine grams of cocaine as alleged by the NCB. The case lasted all of 10 years after which it was observed by the court that he was trying to buy only one gram and that was not punishable. He had to go through rehabilitation so that the case could be closed!
Match fixing has been a big-time sport among film people, especially the out of favour stars. For many, this is said to be their main source of income. And, with the advent of IPL league, it has blossomed and keeps them busy for a long time.
In 2018, Arbaz Khan's name appeared for betting when he failed to pay his losses, over Rs two crore, to the bookie. He was taken in for questioning and he spilled the beans on seven others who also gambled on cricket. There were also a couple of producers who were bookies and there was a case when a top hero lost Rs 15 crore but showed his inability to pay up. The bookie made him do a film for him in lieu of the money!
While gambling is inherent to men as is greed for more, how does one explain the 'Me Too' controversy when the laws are so stringent? If a woman as much as accuses a man, it leads to arrest with no questions asked!
The 'Me Too' list reads almost like the Who's Who of the industry. The accusations may be real or not, many names made it to the media. Those accused are, from the Babuji character, Alok Nath, to Gaurang Doshi, Vikas Bahl, Vikramaditya Motwane, Kishan Kumar, Bhushan Kumar, Nana Patekar, Raju Hirani, Sajid Khan, Anurag Kashyap, Shiney Ahuja (found guilty, though he managed to make the accuser turn hostile in court), and the same top actor who lost Rs 15 crore to betting (he is good at wrapping up such issues behind-the-scenes).
And, the one hitting the headlines from time to time is Salman Khan's hit-and-run case of 2002. It took till 2015 for the Sessions Court to sentence him to five years of imprisonment for culpable homicide but was granted bail the same day by the High Court. Later, in the same year, Salman was acquitted of all charges citing lack of evidence. The Maharashtra Government has appealed in the Supreme Court against the acquittal in 2016 where the case has yet to come up for hearing!
Salman Khan also has another case in the courts against him of hunting blackbucks while shooting for Hum Saath Saath Hain in Rajasthan in 1998. Since then, the case has been bouncing between various courts. In the process he was sentenced to five years prison term with a Rs 2.5 lakh fine only to be withdrawn later! Nothing has come out of it yet in over two decades.
There was this matter of actress Jiah Khan's suspicious death. It was finally described as a suicide though her mother still insists it was not.
The most controversial was the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, a star who promised to go places in the acting world. It remained in the news for a long time; some film people as well as politicians were named as suspects by the media. The death was registered as suicide. Since, then, there is no mention of Sushant and the case is being investigated as a drug racket!
There are many from the film world who make news for other matters like drunk driving, road rage, fighting with cops and so on. But, the latest one, that of Kundra's porn enterprise is watched closely by the media and the people. The people's prediction is: Yeh bhi chhoot jaayega!