Chupke, chupke -- Police suspect Shakeel money in Salman-starrer
PRANATI MEHRA & J. DEY

MUMBAI, NOVEMBER 30: Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, the latest mega movie starring Salman Khan, Preity Zinta and Rani Mukherjee, is attracting a lot of attention. Not all of it is welcome, though.

The Mumbai police, which has for long been openly talking about the deep nexus between the underworld and Bollywood has taken the first definitive step to expose the link. The police which have strong reasons to believe that the film is being financed by Dubai-based Chhota Shakeel, Dawood Ibrahim's right-hand man, has, in a written communication asked the top brass of the investigation wing of Income-Tax, Mumbai to investigate the source of funds of this multi-crore film.

This would perhaps be the first time that a formal investigation -- involving three agencies of the government (Mumbai police, Intelligence Bureau and I-T) -- has been launched into suspected slush money in Bollywood though it's been the hot topic in Mumbai since the string of attacks on movie stars starting with the murder of Gulshan Kumar in 1997.

``We have reason to suspect the source of funds for a couple of movies, Chori, Chori... is one of them,'' Police Commissioner M.N. Singh told The Indian Express.

Producer of the film Nazeem Rizvi and the big daddy of Bollywood, financier Bharat Shah, have stoutly denied any hanky-panky but the Income-Tax department is learnt to have begun a discreet investigation. The three agencies are screening the details of three other films, also starring some of the hottest stars, where funding is suspect.

Chori Chori... is being directed by the hugely successful directorial pair of Abbas-Mustan and was canned in a short span of about 50 to 60 days. It is due for release shortly. Another movie, Ajnabi which they are directing is still on the floors, though it kicked off before Chori Chori...

While neither the police nor tax officials are willing to discuss what has set off their suspicions, one of the reasons that seems to have alerted them is that Rizvi, the producer, is relatively unknown and this is his first big-budget movie.

Rizvi, who said he was not aware that the cops were taking so much interest in his film, says everything is above board. ``The project is as old as 1997 and all those involved have been paid by cheque. Besides, the funding is from Bharat Shah,'' he says.

Rizvi said that it was thanks to Salman Khan, who put in a word for him with directors Abbas-Mustan, that he landed the film. Salman thought Abbas-Mustan had a good story and that Rizvi deserved a good break.

Rizvi was at pains to explain that there cannot even be a hint of a Dubai connection: ``One, because Bharat Shah is the financier and, two, I encountered problems during the film which anyone `with links' would not have had to.

``I got going in mid-1999 when the shooting started but the schedule was disturbed for 15 days in February 2000 when Johnny Lever could not make it to Delhi and the whole unit had to return to Mumbai. I lost Rs 60 lakh. If I had connections, do you think such a thing would happen?'' he asks.

The film which is now almost ready was completed in 60 days. ``That's because there isn't much action, and we got Salman's dates for 30 days without a hitch,'' he says.

``Everyone is paid by cheque. The directors draw a salary of Rs 2 lakh each, every month. Rani was signed for Rs 24 lakh, Preity for Rs 25 lakh and Salman himself is getting his Rs 1.5 cr in instalments. If it was someone else funding, the film would have been made cheap, no?'' asks Rizvi possibly alluding to the belief that stars do films for the dons almost gratis.

Bharat Shah, Bollywood's biggest financier, also says he is not aware the police or the Income-tax were showing interest in his film. ``There is no reason why they should be, because everything is above board. All dealings are on paper, and nothing is unaccounted for,'' says he.

Shah, who refused to disclose the budget of the film, says the reason he is involved in it is purely professional. ``Film-financing is my business. This seems like a potentially profitable film with family appeal. That's why I came aboard.''

The investigating agencies, however, believe that the gangs, specially Shakeel and Abu Salem (who has now moved out of Dubai), have been pouring money into Bollywood. They say there are certain give-aways to underworld involvement, the important one being that the film is shot at a stretch and is completed very fast because stars give bulk dates.

At this moment, police say, there are at least four films which are suspected to be financed by Shakeel and Salem. Intelligence agencies are keeping a tab on the films and the activities of the people involved. Police are also watching a top Bollywood actor who slipped into New Jersey (US) last year to meet Abu Salem and agreed to do a film for him which is on the floor now.

The agencies are also watching Abu Salem's proximity to an actress, who is acting in one of the films.

Whatever the outcome of the investigations, this is likely to bring the seamier side of Bollywood out into the open and blunt their attack on the Mumbai police about lack of security in the city each time there is an attack on a film personality.

Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.