Bollywood’s gangster scare

Ravi Pujari is also reported to have made threat calls to Nusli Wadia, Salman Khan and Farhan Akhtar

The police recently stepped up the security of actor Shah Rukh Khan, after the gangster Ravi Pujari tried to get in touch with the actor. Pujari, who has in the past tried to extort money from various Bollywood personalities, reportedly made the call on 25 August. The call was answered by someone at the actor's office, since Khan was unavailable.

A few days prior to the call, the gangster's henchmen reportedly targeted Khan's friend and business partner, Karim Morani. Morani is a film producer who recently produced Chennai Express and is also involved in the 2G scam case. As the CCTV cameras from the area revealed, late on Saturday night, three men astride a motor- cycle, fired three rounds of bullets at the Morani family's four-storey bungalow in Mumbai's Juhu suburb. No one was, however, injured. Morani reportedly received an SMS from the gangster threatening dire consequences.

According to media reports, Pujari, who is believed to be based in Australia, has been threatening the Morani family for several months. The gangster has apparently been demanding the overseas rights of an upcoming Shah Rukh Khan-starrer. This film appears to be the Farah Khan-directed Happy New Year. The gangster reportedly spoke with Morani and personnel in his office on separate occasions, but they told Pujari that they did not have the film's overseas rights.

The police suspect that the gangster was trying to reach Khan to threaten him. Policemen have now been deployed outside the actor's house, just in case an attack is attempted. Pujari is also reported to have made threat calls to Nusli Wadia, Salman Khan and Farhan Akhtar earlier this year. Boney Kapoor also received calls from him last year.