Farah Khan recalls underworld threat to Karan Johar, says Shah Rukh and Salman faced pressure in the 90s: ‘It was very scary’ | Bollywood News

4 min readNew DelhiMar 14, 2026 06:33 PM The Hindi film industry’s relationship with the Mumbai underworld in the 1990s has long been known. During that decade, several filmmakers and actors received extortion calls, gangsters allegedly financed films, producers Gulshan Kumar and Mukesh Duggal were shot dead underworld gangsters. Now filmmaker and choreographer Farah Khan has opened up about that period on a podcast with Ranveer Allahbadia, Farah recalled how the underworld’s presence in Bollywood became increasingly visible during the 1990s.
‘I had just started my career when Mukesh Duggal was shot’
Farah said she remembers the moment when producer Mukesh Duggal was killed.
“I remember I was on a film set. I had just started my career when Mukesh Duggal was shot,” she said.
Duggal, who produced films such as Fateh, Saathi, Dil Ka Kya Kasoor and Khilona, was shot dead in 1997 at his office in Seven Bungalows in Andheri.
‘The three Khans were under pressure’
During the conversation, Ranveer Allahbadia asked Farah whether Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan, faced pressure from the underworld. Farah responded simply: “Yes.”
When asked about reports that Shah Rukh Khan had received threatening calls, she said she did not know about that particular episode.
‘Karan Johar received threats during Kuch Kuch Hota Hai premiere’
Farah shared that Karan Johar had received threats from the underworld around the time his debut film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai was about to premiere.Story continues below this ad
“I don’t know about Shah Rukh getting calls, but I do know that during the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai premiere, Karan Johar had received threats from the underworld. It was very scary. Everyone was discussing whether the premiere should be cancelled or not. Security was increased, but we eventually went ahead with it. Karan was extremely stressed, imagine it’s your first film and instead of celebrating it, you’re worrying about something like this,” she said.
ALSO READ: Dawood Ibrahim’s gangsters asked Naseeruddin Shah to return fee of my film, claims Lilliput: ‘I was in wrong company
When Karan Johar shared about the threat
Filmmaker Karan Johar had earlier spoken about the terrifying incident in his autobiography An Unsuitable Boy.
Recalling the moment, he wrote, “The phone rang. My mother picked it up, and it was a call from the underworld. A man’s voice said, ‘Your son’s wearing a red T-shirt, I can see him right now. And we’re going to shoot him if you release this film on Friday.’ For some reason, they didn’t want the film to be released that Friday; we didn’t know why. It was a call from Abu Salem, and my mother was shaking with terror. She put the phone down and ran towards the door.”Story continues below this ad
Johar also remembered how actor Shah Rukh Khan reacted to the threat.
“Shah Rukh said, ‘What nonsense!’ He went inside and dragged me out. He said, ‘I’m standing here in front of you. Let’s see who shoots you. I’m standing right here.’ I said, ‘No, no, no, my mother was…’ He told my mother, ‘Nothing’s gonna happen. I’m a Pathan. Nothing can happen to me and nothing will happen to your son. He’s like my brother. Nothing’s gonna happen’.”
Threat to Shah Rukh Khan
In journal Anupama Chopra’s book King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema, Shah Rukh Khan recalled receiving threatening calls from gangster Abu Salem.
“He would tell me that he could see me. It was like living under a telescope. It was very depressing and very scary,” Shah Rukh said.