📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / A.Savin
Entertainment
From Haji Mastan to Lawrence Bishnoi: Gangsters' Path into Bollywood
✍️ Bhaskar English
🗓 20 Oct 2026, 03:47 PM
👁 12
The article traces how notorious criminals like Haji Mastan and Lawrence Bishnoi infiltrated the Indian film industry, detailing their motives and the impact on star culture.
Haji Mastan, a prominent smuggler of the 1970s, was known for his close ties with film producers and actors, using his influence to secure lucrative deals for both sides.
In recent years, Lawrence Bishnoi has emerged as a new face of organised crime in the industry, reportedly using film projects as a front for money laundering and to gain social prestige.
Both figures have targeted stars not only for financial gain but also to leverage the glamour and reach of cinema, thereby expanding their networks and protecting their illicit activities.
The infiltration has prompted the film industry to tighten security protocols, and authorities have increased scrutiny over production houses that show unexplained wealth or sudden business growth.
In recent years, Lawrence Bishnoi has emerged as a new face of organised crime in the industry, reportedly using film projects as a front for money laundering and to gain social prestige.
Both figures have targeted stars not only for financial gain but also to leverage the glamour and reach of cinema, thereby expanding their networks and protecting their illicit activities.
The infiltration has prompted the film industry to tighten security protocols, and authorities have increased scrutiny over production houses that show unexplained wealth or sudden business growth.