A shooting attack on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai has drawn renewed attention to the relationship between organized crime and India’s film industry. The 36-year-old was leaving a football ground in Juhu when shots were fired at his vehicle, injuring his driver and a vlogger present at the scene. Police have detained or arrested 10 suspects and are investigating weapon deliveries across multiple states and payments to alleged attackers.
The incident has been linked to Lawrence Bishnoi, a prominent gangster with roots in northern India currently imprisoned. Social media posts and audio recordings attributed to individuals associated with the Bishnoi organization claimed responsibility for the attack, alleging that Shroff was targeted due to connections to actor Salman Khan. Khan has been threatened by Bishnoi over a 1998 poaching case involving blackbucks, animals sacred to the Bishnoi community. However, Mumbai police have not verified these claims or confirmed the gang’s involvement.
The attack on Shroff follows other recent incidents involving prominent Bollywood figures, including gunfire outside Khan’s residence in 2024 and threats directed at filmmaker Rohit Shetty earlier this year. These incidents have stirred historical memories of the 1990s and early 2000s, when Mumbai’s underworld maintained significant control over the film industry through financing productions, extracting protection money, and employing violence. Senior law enforcement officials noted that organized crime’s structure and methods have evolved significantly since that era, with modern gangs operating through dispersed, technologically sophisticated networks rather than maintaining visible territorial control.
Former officials debate whether current incidents represent a genuine resurgence of mafia influence or represent a different phenomenon altogether. Some analysts characterize today’s gangsters as internationally connected and less dependent on traditional power bases within Mumbai itself. The contemporary distinction between verified criminal acts and claims made in the names of notorious figures remains unclear to the public, potentially amplifying the perceived threat regardless of confirmed involvement.
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