Shah Rukh Khan rose to fame at a time when Bollywood was still under the shadow of the underworld. Film stars were often targeted with threats and demands, and Khan was no exception. In a recent interview, filmmaker Sanjay Gupta recalled how Shah Rukh refused to back down and instead told them to “just shoot me” if they wanted.During a podcast on Hussain Zaidi Files, Gupta shared, “The only guy in the film industry, Shah Rukh Khan, when he was threatened, he said, ‘I will never do the film or show, I am a Pathaan, just shoot me if you want’. I am not scared of you, but I will not work with you and not do shows for you. He actually earned their respect. They also must have felt that there’s at least one person…”However, Shah Rukh lived under heavy security and police protection for three years following the incidents.When Shah Rukh spoke about receiving threatsIn an old interview with comedian and actor Ruby Wax, Shah Rukh Khan had also spoken about the threats he received during the 1990s.“They would set up a system, and they would say you do it. I may not have succumbed to it, but then they shoot you. So, sometimes it’s nice to do a film,” he said.Wax further questioned, “You’re seriously saying someone calls you and says be in my film or I’ll blow your head off?”ALSO READ | ‘Akshay Kumar-Shilpa Shetty almost got married’: Producer recalls Akshay’s dull career phaseStory continues below this adThe actor nodded and replied, “Not as nicely as you’re saying it.”He further elaborated why Bollywood was an easy target for the underworld. When asked if he had ever received death threats, the actor said, “Oh yes, on many occasions… I had a lot of security for three years.”When Shah Rukh Khan faced calls from Abu SalemFilm critic Anupama Chopra also documented Shah Rukh Khan’s encounters with the underworld in her book King of Bollywood: Shah Rukh Khan and the Seductive World of Indian Cinema. She wrote about his run-ins with gangsters including Abu Salem, Chhota Rajan and Chhota Shakeel.According to Chopra, the concerns around Shah Rukh’s safety began in 1997, when he was working on Mahesh Bhatt’s Duplicate. Senior Maharashtra police officer Rakesh Maria, who had been involved in investigating the 1993 Mumbai blasts case, reportedly alerted Bhatt about a possible threat to the actor’s life. Shah Rukh was subsequently provided with a personal bodyguard.Story continues below this adChopra also recalled an incident in which Shah Rukh received a direct call from Abu Salem. The gangster allegedly abused the actor for refusing to work on a film backed by a producer close to him.Although Shah Rukh was reportedly “depressed and scared”, he remained composed during the conversation and tried to defuse the situation. When Salem continued to pressure him to accept a particular film, Shah Rukh, according to Chopra, told him, “I don’t tell you who to shoot so don’t tell me which film to do.”‘Nothing can happen to me’In his autobiography An Unsuitable Boy, filmmaker Karan Johar had also spoken about how confident Shah Rukh was when Karan received similar threats from the underworld before the release of his film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.According to Johar, Shah Rukh was not willing to let the threats intimidate him. He wrote, “Shah Rukh said, ‘What nonsense!’ He went inside and dragged me out. He said, ‘I’m standing here in front of you. Let’s see who shoots you. I’m standing right here.’”Story continues below this adJohar recalled that Shah Rukh then reassured his mother, saying, “I’m a Pathan. Nothing can happen to me and nothing will happen to your son. He’s like my brother. Nothing’s gonna happen.”Bollywood and underworld connectionThe connection between Bollywood and Mumbai’s underworld had existed for decades, but it became particularly visible during the late 1980s and 1990s, with allegations of underworld financing, interference in films and intimidation of actors. The killing of music baron Gulshan Kumar in 1997 further highlighted the dangers facing the industry. The nexus came under greater scrutiny with the Chori Chori Chupke Chupke case in 2001, in which financier Bharat Shah and producer Nazim Rizvi were arrested over alleged links to gangster Chhota Shakeel.