In the recent past, instances involving several top names from the Hindi film industry, including Karan Johar and David Dhawan, being threatened by underworld gangsters in the 90s have come to light. Bollywood’s association with the mafia was at its peak during the 1980s and 1990s, and it was around this time that actor Sakshi Shivanand had a brush with the underworld—an incident that ultimately impacted her career in Hindi films.
‘Underworld connection in Bollywood was strong’
Sakshi made her acting debut in Telugu cinema with the 1993 release Anna Vadina. She then moved to Hindi films and starred in projects like Vinod Khanna’s Janam Kundli, Mahesh Bhatt’s Papa Kehte Hain, and Dharmendra’s Jeeo Shaan Se. However, she did not find much success in Bollywood and eventually returned to South cinema. There, she went on to work in successful projects with top stars like Chiranjeevi, Mammootty, and Arvind Swamy.
Later, she got another opportunity to make a comeback in Hindi films and appeared in projects like Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai and also starred opposite Govinda in Jahan Jaaeyega Hamen Paaeyega. During this phase, she was offered Tum opposite Saif Ali Khan. Sakshi was ready for this new innings, but she soon discovered that the film’s producer allegedly had underworld connections. “I was terrified when the producer turned out to be from the underworld. I had everybody telling me that the underworld connection in Bollywood was very strong. I completely freaked out. I ran off to do Telugu and Kannada films,” Sakshi had said in an old interview with DNA.
Sakshi Shivanand ghosted producer, said goodbye to Bollywood career
Scared by the producer’s alleged underworld links, Sakshi decided to abandon the project and cut off all contact. However, this decision came at a cost, effectively ending her prospects in Hindi cinema. She told the website, “If I hadn’t freaked out after the brush with the underworld I’d have continued here. But I ran away from the Hindi industry. I was really shaken up. The ‘Tum’ producer would call up, I had to change my number. No one knew where I was. That experience cost me my career in Hindi cinema. I had done Anubhav Sinha’s ‘Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha’. Though it wasn’t a hit, I was noticed.”
Sakshi returned to South cinema but only appeared in a limited number of projects after this incident. Her last big-screen appearance was in the 2014 Kannada film Paramashiva.
When David Dhawan and Karan Johar were threatened by mafia
In an earlier conversation with Yuvaa, actor Varun Dhawan had recalled how his father and director David Dhawan received threats from underworld. Varun shared that the caller threatened to ‘come with guns’ and which is why David had to stay somewhere else because of the same.
Similarly, Farah Khan had also shared how Karan Johar got scary, direct threats from the underworld before the premiere of his directorial debut, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. Speaking to Ranveer Allahbadia, she admitted that Karan debated cancelling Kuch Kuch Hota Hai premiere at that time. “It was scary,” she said.