Chori Chori Chupke Chupke underworld connection explained: The 2001 romantic drama Chori Chori Chupke Chupke is mostly remembered for its daring and bizarre take on surrogacy. But honestly, the real drama happened off camera. Years later, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma looked back on how the movie somehow got tangled up with the Mumbai underworld.

Directed by Abbas-Mustan and starring Salman Khan alongside Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji, the film initially appeared to be a routine Bollywood production. Then came the financing troubles, and suddenly, the movie was at the centre of one of Bollywood’s most infamous controversies.

Chori Chori Chupke Chupke underworld connection explained

Speaking during a conversation with journalist Hussain Zaidi, RGV recalled how financier Bharat Shah became involved in the project. According to him, the opportunity began when a man approached Bharat claiming he had secured Salman Khan’s dates for a film.

“At a point of time, he (Bharat Shah) got a guy who told him he has Salman Khan’s dates. So, he said, ‘Okay, cool.’ But since that guy didn’t have a film background and wasn’t even rich, Bharat bhai called Salman,” the Satya director explained. “Salman told him, ‘Yes, I’ve given him dates.’ That reassured Bharat bhai enough for him to give the money and the film Chori Chori Chupke Chupke started.”

At that stage, Bharat believed he was simply financing a legitimate film project.

How was the alleged underworld link discovered?

The situation changed dramatically when Bharat Shah later discovered that the film’s producer, Nazim Rizvi, allegedly had connections with underworld figure Chhota Shakeel.

Ram Gopal Varma described Bharat’s thinking during that period. “After some time, he got to know the producer, Nazim Rizvi, has some connection with Chhota Shakeel. But he thought he’s doing a legal business, and if the producer has some underworld connection, how does that concern him? He’s himself not even a criminal, but just associated with a criminal.”

The controversy escalated when a businessman in the film industry reportedly received an extortion call demanding Rs 5 crore. Hoping to negotiate through Rizvi’s alleged contacts, the businessman sought Bharat’s help. The demand was eventually reduced to Rs 2 crore.

All about the arrests that followed

The episode soon drew the attention of law enforcement. In 2001, Mumbai Police arrested both Bharat Shah and Rizvi during an investigation into alleged underworld funding in the film industry. Bharat was later convicted for failing to disclose Rizvi’s alleged connections and sentenced to one year in prison. Having already spent 14 months in custody during the trial, he was released immediately.

Rizvi and his associate Abdul Rahim Allahbaksh Khan were found guilty of maintaining underworld links and extorting members of the film industry. Both were sentenced to six years in jail and fined Rs 15 lakh.