Anu Aggarwal exposes Bollywood's 90s underworld ties: 'Ruled by Dawood Ibrahim... It was a dirty business'

Anu Aggarwal, who rose to fame with the 1990 romantic hit Aashiqui, has spoken candidly about the murky ties between Bollywood and the underworld during the 1990s. Reflecting on that era, she described the film business back then as "dirty," noting that many movies were financed by the underworld. While she admitted she’s unsure about the industry's current state, her remarks offer a stark reminder of the shadowy influences that once loomed over Hindi cinema.

‘All Money Came from the Underworld’

In a conversation with Pinkvilla, Anu Aggarwal shed more light on how deeply the underworld was intertwined with the Hindi film industry in the ’90s. She revealed that most film financing during that period was done through off-the-record deals, with figures like Dawood Ibrahim reportedly pulling the strings behind the scenes. According to her, nearly all the money flowing into Bollywood at the time had links to the underworld, painting a picture of an industry that operated under an entirely different set of rules.

Sudden Fame and Overwhelming Attention

Anu Aggarwal became a national sensation overnight with her debut in Aashiqui, gaining a massive fan following almost instantly. But the intense fame came with a price. The constant attention and lack of personal space eventually became overwhelming, pushing her to step away from the limelight altogether.

Recalling that time, Anu said her safety was often at risk — fans would camp outside her building, some even flying in from other countries just to catch a glimpse of her home. Fortunately, she lived in an MLA-MP building that had police security, but the frenzy was still too much. Drawing a parallel, she compared the attention to what Shah Rukh Khan receives today — noting that he was her neighbour at the time — and admitted it all became so intense that she ultimately chose to walk away from the industry.

Unpaid Dues and a Career Cut Short

Anu Aggarwal also made a surprising revelation about her debut film Aashiqui—despite the movie’s blockbuster success, she claims she was never fully compensated for her work. During the same conversation, the actor alleged that she only received 60 percent of her agreed-upon fee and that the remaining 40 percent is still unpaid to this day.

After the massive success of Aashiqui, Anu Aggarwal went on to appear in films like Ghazab Tamasha, King Uncle, Ram Shastra, and others. However, her promising career came to an abrupt halt after a tragic car accident in 1999. The accident left her in a coma for 29 days, and she never returned to acting after her recovery. Her last film appearance was in the 1996 thriller Return of Jewel Thief.