Tiger Shroff Shooting Revives Bollywood Gangster Fears

A suspected shooting attempt targeting Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai has revived concerns about organised crime in India’s film industry, although police have not established who ordered the attack or whether the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was involved.

Actor Targeted After Football Match

Shroff, 36, was leaving a football ground in Mumbai’s affluent Juhu neighbourhood on Sunday evening when gunfire erupted near his BMW. His driver and a vlogger who had arrived to film the actor were reportedly wounded.

The incident has dominated headlines in India, with investigators examining alleged weapon deliveries, financial transactions and the involvement of multiple suspects. Police have detained or arrested 10 people as part of the investigation.

Online posts and an audio recording attributed responsibility to alleged associates of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. The claims suggested Shroff was targeted because of his alleged links to actor Salman Khan, whom Bishnoi has threatened. However, Mumbai police have not verified these claims or confirmed any connection between the gang and the shooting.

Memories of Bollywood’s Gangster Era

The attack has revived memories of the 1990s and early 2000s, when Mumbai’s criminal underworld exerted considerable influence over Bollywood. Gangsters were accused of financing films, demanding protection money and using violence to influence casting, production and distribution decisions.

Former Mumbai Crime Branch chief D Sivanandhan, who took charge in 1998, recalls an era when criminal figures operating from abroad could influence film projects through threats and financial pressure.

In 1997, music mogul Gulshan Kumar was shot dead outside a Mumbai temple. Three years later, filmmaker Rakesh Roshan survived an assassination attempt. The industry also faced scrutiny over alleged links between film financing and organised crime.

Sivanandhan investigated the financing of Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, a Salman Khan film that led to convictions under Maharashtra’s organised crime legislation over underworld connections.

Despite the similarities between past violence and the latest attack, Sivanandhan cautioned against treating the incident as proof that the former Mumbai mafia has regained its influence.

“This is not the Mumbai mafia which we know in the last 60 years,” he said. “This is something else.”

Lawrence Bishnoi’s Growing Notoriety

Bishnoi, a gangster with roots in northern India who has been imprisoned for years, has become associated with threats and attacks involving prominent figures. His name has also been invoked in online claims of responsibility for criminal acts, making it important to distinguish verified evidence from unsubstantiated assertions.

Bishnoi has publicly threatened Salman Khan over a 1998 blackbuck poaching case. In April 2024, gunmen fired shots outside Khan’s Mumbai home. Six months later, politician Baba Siddique, who was close to Khan, was murdered.

Mumbai police have linked the attack on Khan’s home and Siddique’s murder to the Bishnoi gang, though the evidence does not establish personal involvement by Bishnoi in Siddique’s killing.

Former Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria has described newer criminal networks as more technologically capable and internationally connected than earlier gangs, making their activities harder to trace.

Social Media Changes the Gangster Image

Bollywood once helped shape public perceptions of Mumbai’s underworld through films such as Satya and Company. Their portrayals of gang life became deeply embedded in popular culture.

Film scholar Ashvin Immanuel Devasundaram told the BBC that the fear and fascination surrounding the underworld had become part of the public consciousness.

Today’s criminal figures, however, can circulate threats, photographs and claims of responsibility directly through social media, building notoriety without relying on cinema to tell their stories.

Industry Calls for Greater Security

Following the shooting, police reportedly increased security outside the homes of Khan and filmmaker Rohit Shetty, whose residence was also targeted by gunfire earlier this year.

The All Indian Cine Workers Association called for stronger protection for film-industry figures, asking: “Today it is Tiger Shroff. Who is next?”

There is currently little evidence that criminal networks have regained their former control over Bollywood’s finances or creative decisions. Nevertheless, the latest incident highlights how a single attack can generate widespread fear, particularly when speculation spreads rapidly online.

For Sivanandhan, even extensive security measures cannot eliminate every risk. “There is always a crack in the armour,” he said.