# 9. Mumbai actor sentenced due to ties to underground organizations.

This week a successful actor, Sanjay Dutt, was sentenced to five years in prison for having illegal firearms in his possession. These weapons were supplied by the same organization that was responsible for the 1993 Mumbai bombings. This is just another instance that shows the ties between the criminal underground and Indias film industry, otherwise known as Bollywood. The ganglords finance blocbusters in order to launder their illegally obtained capital. Many actors in the Bollywood scene have reported recieving multiple threats from some of the members of the underground organization. The main reason Bollywood has a connection with these criminal organizations is the government in Mumbai has very strict regulations that made the film industry unable to recieve bank credit, private equity, and other commercial and legal financing. Therefore the industry is forced to rub elbows with these high end "gangsters" in order to keep their dreams and careers alive. Many of the major criminals enjoy flaunting their connection to the film industry inviting the high profile actors to their parties, and the choice is not always left to them. Although the ties between Bollywood and the underground crime of Mumbai are tight, few actors and directors are spared form the fearsome threats and common home invasions and robberys that take place, many times face to face with criminals demanding money.

This just shows us that the world of organized crime has ties everywhere, if criminals are funding our media how can we trust what we see. An industry with no government funding that needs millions of dollars to stay in business can make one wrong decision one time and forever plunge the industry into an age of fear and turmoil, due to threats and extortion from the world of organized crime. It's unfortunate that people who would otherwise never involve themselves with the underground world of crime must do so in order to obtain and sustain their normal lifestyle. Also those who are blind to what they are recieving and dont otherwise know better have been punished to prove a point. However to the leaders of the crime syndicates it shows that the authoritites will catch the guppies but dont want to deal with the real big bass.

http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/28/newswallah-bollywood-and-organized-crime/