Journalist and author Hussain Zaidi recently opened up about the deep connections between Bollywood stars and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
According to Zaidi, Dawood frequently hosted top Indian celebrities in Dubai, showered them with expensive gifts, and even provided financial backing for their films using black money. He recalled how veteran actors Rishi Kapoor and Dilip Kumar openly acknowledged meeting Dawood and how the gangster’s love for Hindi cinema was well known.
In an interview, Zaidi explained, “Dawood didn’t want to earn money from films; he simply loved Hindi cinema. He loved all the heroines. All the film stars who would travel to Dubai, Dawood used to organise dinner for them. For instance, Dilip Kumar, Rishi Kapoor, Amjad Khan… These people have even talked about it in their interviews about meeting Dawood. He has also given them expensive gifts. So, he wasn’t interested in Hindi films with the purpose of earning money. He just wanted to hobnob with them and be seen in that company.”
Recalling a personal interaction with Dawood, Zaidi shared, “I asked him why he was terrorising the industry, and he told me, ‘I love the film industry; they don’t need to be scared of me.’ This trend started with Abu Salem, who would extort money from filmmakers.”
Zaidi further revealed how prevalent Dawood’s influence was in Bollywood during that time. “He knew everyone—producers, directors, stars, and actresses. During that time, people spoke about their friendship with Dawood as a thing to be proud of. I won’t name anyone, but they would say things like, ‘I just spoke to bhai on the phone.’ Speaking to Dawood was a thing to be proud about. Because the police didn’t have a strong grip at that time, everyone was in touch with him. They saw nothing wrong in being in touch with him.”
While Dawood never officially produced films, his financial involvement in the industry was undeniable. Zaidi explained, “He didn’t fund films as a producer, but he would loan the money. At that time, there weren’t many studios, and the industry wasn’t institutionalized. So people would take Dawood’s money and invest it in their films, and in this way, his black money turned white. He would loan them the money, and after the film’s release, they would return it to him as white money.”
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