I am a master in India

Chapter 231 Idiot
What does 300 million rupees mean? That's about the amount of money spent on the first phase of the Sur Industrial Park project.

Damn, Bollywood is still too rich!
A record company was willing to spend a fortune to acquire a movie soundtrack cassette.

This was indeed beyond Ron's imagination; no wonder the mob was so keen on investing in Bollywood.

If you bet correctly, the returns are comparable to robbing a bank.

Of course, the movie songs directed by Chopra are known for their outstanding soundtracks, so it's no wonder that T-Series Records offered such high prices.

Ron’s Sun Entertainment holds a 21% stake, and after deducting the 47 million rupees in costs, the music copyright revenue alone amounts to 50 million rupees.

I'm so excited! If this kind of good thing happens twice more, even his Suer Electric Appliances won't be enough to compete.

"Do you know who called you?" Ron wanted nothing more than to drag out the gangsters behind the trouble and slap them across the face—that was his money!

"His name seems to be Abu Salem." This was the first time Chopra received a call from someone who introduced himself.

“I’ll have someone check it out.” Ron noted the name down.

"Sigh, if he just wanted some money, that would be one thing, but the copyright..."

“It’s no use,” Ron shook his head. “He wants to make an example of you.”

This matter has been making headlines recently, and it's being discussed not only by people in the industry but also by many gossip newspapers.

Salem is now in a difficult position and will certainly not give up easily.

Otherwise, the public would think that extortionists only make verbal threats and that most of them are "accidentally" encountered by the police.

This is unacceptable; one must be sacrificed as a flag offering!
This way, people will see Abu Salem's name again in the newspapers, and others will be terrified and obedient when they receive his calls in the future.

Other gangs might be watching too. If Salem gets his way this time, the other gangs will follow suit.

"You'd better not go out for the next few days. If you really can't, I can call a police officer friend of mine, and he should be able to send someone to protect you for a while."

“That seems…not so good,” Chopra hesitated.

He felt that being escorted by armed police officers when going out was damaging to his image, and that it was better to stay at home and not go out.

"Anyway, be careful." Ron immediately went to find Aiger.

If anyone knows Daoud's men inside and out, it has to be him.

During the bombing, Aije thoroughly investigated the Daoud gang.

Sure enough, as soon as Ron gave his name, Ajay immediately remembered him.

He had someone find some information and gave Ron a detailed introduction to the other party's background.

Abu Salem, Daoud's extortion expert, was also involved in the bombing.

However, he had long harbored resentment towards Daoud for the past few years, having been bossed around by him.

However, due to the case, he had to keep a low profile for the time being.

He had long been obsessed with Bollywood and desperately wanted to participate in film production, but was unable to do so.

So he became self-taught and, by establishing a shell company, became an expert in extorting filmmakers.

"So, this guy did some things behind Daoud's back?" Ron's eyes lit up.

“Dawood probably knows, but he’ll turn a blind eye if Salem is willing to share the money,” Ajay replied.

"Where does he live now?" Ron got straight to the point.

"Dubai."

"Why are all these guys heading abroad?" Ron was a little annoyed.

If he could arrange a "chance encounter" with the other party in Mumbai today, the Gulf countries would be in much more trouble.

“He’s on the wanted list. If he doesn’t want to be spotted, he can only hide abroad,” Ai Jie sneered.

"Dawood is in Babayang, his bosses are in Dubai, and the gang's lower-level members are in Mumbai. How does he control them?"

"More and more people are trying to start their own businesses, and Mumbai will only become more chaotic in the future."

“I will find him.” Ron prepared to get up and leave.

As long as he's in Dubai, he can't escape; it just takes Vinod a little more time.

"There will be an industry forum in a couple of days about Bollywood extortion. You can go and listen to it."

"Does that thing even work?"

"It's better than nothing," Aijie shrugged.

Well, the police in Mumbai have probably given up too.

Two days later, while Ron was making a satellite phone call to Vinod in Dubai, Chopra received further threatening phone calls.

Desaleam sent a Bollywood director to relay the message.

The gist of it is that if the contract isn't signed by the end of the month, the next shot aimed at him will definitely not jam.

Upon hearing the news, Ron couldn't help but sigh, realizing that Bollywood had been thoroughly infiltrated, with even fellow directors acting as informants for the mob.

To reiterate, the government's neglect of Bollywood has allowed gangs to take advantage of the situation.

They directly interfered with the cast, ignoring everything else.

For example, they might recruit unknown, obedient directors and producers, then call the hottest stars of the moment and order them to cancel their current filming plans and join a gangster-funded movie.

As long as a famous actor appears in the film, it is easy for the movie to recoup its costs.

If anyone dares to resist, there will be assassins to deal with them.

In Mumbai, young lives are practically worthless; people will kill for 200 rupees, and the police can't keep up with the arrests. As their infiltration deepens, gangs are also trying to get their hands on overseas film distribution rights.

They have such channels, after all, many of the leaders are based overseas.

The decision of which Bollywood stars can go abroad for promotion is entirely made by the mafia.

Once abroad, Bollywood people are easier for them to manipulate.

Every year, a flight carrying actors and musicians flies from Barcelona to Boston, and their promotion and tours are all orchestrated by the mafia.

Over the years, Bollywood and the mob have developed a strange symbiotic relationship.

Filmmakers draw inspiration from the lives of gangsters and make films about them, while the gangs then fund those films.

Those big shots are enthusiastic about entertainment and also follow celebrities. They imitate the image of celebrities on screen and dress themselves accordingly.

At the same time, they are proud of their ability to discredit movie stars; they have their own ways of establishing their authority.

For example, a single phone call can make a movie star who fights against thousands of enemies with his bare hands kneel down and beg for mercy from gangsters in order to save his life.

Many influential people, including ordinary people, believe that acting is a lowly profession.

In short, the relationship between gangsters and Bollywood is complex, involving both admiration and aversion.

Even a Kshatriya like Chopra wouldn't dare refuse their investment, but the gangsters' appetites were growing so large that it became unbearable.

He planned to attend an industry meeting organized by the Mumbai government, even though it might not be very useful.

Most of the producers attending the meeting had close ties to gangsters, and some of their identities were an open secret.

To put it bluntly, many of them are informants for the gangs. They will report the contents of the meeting to their superiors in detail: who came and what each person said.

Ron even speculated that the government officials attending the meeting also had close ties to the mob.

Well, he's got nothing better to do anyway. He'll go with Chopra and wait for Vinode's news.

On Saturday evening, the symposium was held at the State Guest House in the Western Ghats. Ron and his wife Chopra, along with Mary and her family, attended.

Upon arrival, the gatekeeper who had been checking him let him through immediately after seeing Ron.

No one dared to stop them; Ron's face was very useful now.

The buffs stacked up so many times that they were impossible to count.

Thanks to him, we were all seated in the front row. When we arrived, the spacious conference hall was already full.

The group included a producer, several second-tier celebrities, Maharashtra Home Minister Chagan Boujibar, high-ranking Mumbai police officials, and journalists from over a dozen radio stations.

This place feels more like a press conference than a symposium.

Ironically, the meeting only officially began after all the media reporters and cameramen had left the room.

Leaving aside the preceding nonsense, the police surprisingly complained first that the directors did not report the extortion they were subjected to.

The producers present were indignant, expressing that the local police station had failed to take action after they reported the incidents to the police.

Some even bluntly stated that the herders involved in the illegal trade were all traitors, yet they were treated like VIPs when they were brought to the police station.

The police and the gangsters are in cahoots; their reports are completely useless.

Another director complained that although he was indeed under police protection, his bodyguard was shot dead in front of his house.

The police chief immediately retorted, "The person we're protecting is you, not the people here to protect you. Aren't you unharmed?"

For Mumbai police, bodyguards are consumables, and can't even be considered people.

Chopra also questioned why the government did not extradite gang leaders hiding overseas, but instead released a list of filmmakers who owed taxes because they were under police protection.
He threatened the government that if it continued to do nothing, he would consider moving his businesses to the safer Hyderabad.

The film industry is the economic backbone of Mumbai; without it, Mumbai would be largely destroyed.

The Interior Minister instinctively wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but after seeing Ron sitting next to him, he changed his mind.

"India is a democracy, so I can't say these things publicly, but I can tell you that I have decided to impose the harshest punishment on extortionists! Really, the ultimate punishment, a punishment without any leniency."

Just listen to what politicians say and let it go.

Ron finally understood: Mumbai, from top to bottom, was full of incompetent fools.

Stepping out of the conference hall, not far from the roadside, there was a garbage dump with a sign that read "For Police Use Only."

“Look,” Chopra pointed out the car window, “if the police are like this, this country is beyond saving.”

“To resolve this, we’ll have to resort to drastic measures; the police are the last resort,” Ron chuckled.

"That bureau chief, and the Minister of Home Affairs, are both half-baked. India is full of people like them. We've entrusted our great parliamentary democracy to these people, and that's the source of this country's tragedy."

"Don't worry about these things for now. I'll probably get Salem sorted out in about two days." Ron wasn't interested in half-baked solutions.

"Are you sure? I heard he's hiding in Dubai, and the Mumbai police can't do anything to him."

“The Mumbai police can’t reach that far, but I can.”

"Dude, you don't have business in Dubai either, do you?" Chopra asked in surprise.

“My men will find him soon,” Ron said casually.

"Oh, the police in Mumbai should be ashamed of this!"

Ron shrugged. Actually, if India were full of these half-baked individuals, it would be quite good.

The more incompetent they are, the more opportunities he has to cause trouble.

(End of this chapter)