Salman-Aishwarya tapes

Salman-Aishwarya tapes



When the dubious funding of the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke was traced to the underworld gangsters, the close relationship that the film industry and the Mumbai underworld share was brought into focus. With the arrest of Bharat Shah, many prominent personalities of the film world were closely watched by the police, one of them being Salman Khan, who played the leading role in the film.

The relationship between the film industry and the underworld began in the late 1980's when Dubai was a popular shopping and entertainment destination for the Mumbai glitterati. Wannabes started asking the gangsters controlling the Mumbai smuggling scene for favors, and the most famous example is of the current Mrs. Dawood Ibrahim, actress Mandakini who bagged Ram Teri Ganga Maili, a Raj Kapoor film. Financing bollywood films was a hitherto untapped source of income. In the mid nineties, Dawood shifted base to Karachi, and placed his aide Abu Salem to manage his bollywood contacts. Stars started paying "protection money" at this point of time, and the underworld helped some like Sanjay Dutt who asked for arms to protect themselves during the periods of communal violence. Slowly the influence of the underworld spread, with the gangsters dictating terms and choosing the stars. People who didn't co-operate like Gulshan Kumar were gunned down. By this time, the relationship between the underworld and the film industry was well known and well established. The underworld started hosting shows abroad, and calling in stars who owed them favors to take part in them. Soon, the underworld and the film industry were associated with the very identity of Mumbai.

Hindustan times, when it was launched, perhaps cashed in on this association. The headlines read "Salman Tapes: Shock and awe." It definitely made it to the news, with all major news channels broadcasting parts of the tapes, of what seemed like an inebriated Salman Khan demanding Aishwarya Rai, to participate in a show in Dubai by Abu Salem. The exact origin of the tapes is not specified anywhere, but it appears that Hindustan Times got hold of the tapes from the Police, where it was lying idle for all these years. The demands soon turn to threats, as Aishwarya Rai keeps reminding him that the phone lines may be tapped, that Salman could get into trouble, and that Salman was drunk. Khan, apparently, lists his various powerful connections, and suggests that he can get rid of Rai if he wanted to. Rai still does not give a proper reply, and finally, Khan confronts her with a yes/no answer, and asks; "You f****** bitch. Are you doing the Salem show or not?" to which, Rai replies with only a "Oh really, you got drunk." The tapes go on in this fashion for a while, and the tape ends with Khan convincing Rai that everything he had said was true. After the news spread around, there was certainly shock, but little awe. Politicians who weren't involved in closing down movie theatres that showed Salman Khan's latest movie, Maine Pyaar Kyon Kiya, demanded high level probes into the tapes, and that the judicial system should mobilize and work on the allegations.

Soon, the tapes began to be known as the Salman-Aishwarya tapes, with little doubt remaining that the two celebrities may in fact, not be involved at all. There was the usual silence from Aishwarya Rai, and Salman Khan's lawyers immediately declared that Salman Khan denied any involvement in the tapes and that the tapes were fabricated. Those who openly supported Salman Khan instead of doubting the authenticity of the tapes, suggested that Salman Khan was merely bragging in an inebriated state in an effort to beguile Ms. Rai. If the tapes are true, then certainly this is the case, because Salman Khan claims in the tapes that Sanjay Dutt had no involvement in the Bombay Blasts, but that he, Salman Khan, had all the information before hand. The Mumbai police have done a commendable job in investigating the blasts, and in fact, their over enthusiasm to dole out justice came under the public scanner when entire populations from certain areas were taken into custody under blatant abuse of POTA. Even Sanjay Dutt, who had no involvement in the Bombings themselves,was booked by the police under POTA. Because he and his father were actively involved pro-muslim social endeavors in the aftermath of the communal riots, he felt it was necessary to protect himself, and therefore procured a few rifles from the underworld. In the aftermath of the blasts, when this was discovered, the police charged him with POTA instead of the possession of arms act. If Salman Khan was remotely involved with the blasts, he would have come into police custody then.

The media has however, managed to do it again. Salman Khan has been branded guilty until proven innocent. The media as a whole should be more responsible, if not for the celebrities, then for the sake of the social repercussions. The connection between Bollywood and the underworld gets reinforced, and the people lose faith in the justice system. Even though there are some hints in the media that the tapes may not be authentic, no one is debating the fact that the tapes should have been in the news our years ago, when they apparently came into the hands of the police. The society is led to believe that celebrities are above the law. In fact, celebrities are prosecuted more than necessary, because of the general perception that they are all gangster puppets. For example, Salman Khan himself was put into lockup because his driver ran over some people. The media should therefore be more responsible when covering stories like this, more so because the people will lose faith in the media as well if the tapes turn out to be false.

The police have procured audio samples of the celebrities involved for verifying the authenticity of the tapes. Time and the Mumbai police will tell if the tapes are indeed authentic and only then can the real story be reported.


-AMJ