For decades, Sunday evening outside Amitabh Bachchan’s Mumbai home, Jalsa, has followed the same rhythm. Fans gather behind barricades, the gate opens, and the veteran actor steps out to wave and fold his hands for the crowd. On November 1, the ritual continued, but the picture was strikingly different. Bachchan greeted his admirers from behind a tall, transparent bulletproof glass enclosure, with heavy security around the residence and his son Abhishek Bachchan keeping a close watch on the arrangements.
The image travelled fast, and on Tuesday, November 3, it drew a formal response from the film industry. The All Indian Cine Workers Association (AICWA) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking stronger protection for people working in cinema. In a statement shared on X under the heading “Bollywood Behind Bulletproof Glass”, AICWA president Suresh Shyamlal Gupta asked a pointed question: after a string of attacks and threats involving well known names, who could be next?
What AICWA has asked the Prime Minister
Gupta’s letter sets out four clear demands. First, foolproof security for film personalities and their families. Second, a complete crackdown on gangster and extortion networks, with an investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Third, fast track trials and strict punishment for those found guilty. Fourth, the restoration of law and order in Mumbai, so the city does not slide back into the fear associated with the underworld years of the 1990s.
“Mumbai must never go back to the underworld days of the 1990s. Bollywood must never work in the shadow of fear,” the association said in its post. Gupta added that Indian cinema is a source of pride for the country and carries India’s culture to the world, and that its artists, filmmakers and producers must be able to live and work without fear. He said the association has full faith the Prime Minister will look into the matter with the seriousness it deserves. So far, there has been no public response from the Prime Minister’s Office.
Why the Jalsa photograph changed the conversation
Bachchan’s Sunday darshan is one of the most familiar sights in Mumbai’s celebrity culture. Hundreds of fans turn up each week, many travelling long distances, just to see him wave from the platform outside Jalsa. On November 1, videos showed him greeting the crowd from inside a transparent enclosure, reportedly around 12 feet tall and covering three sides of the platform, while Mumbai Police personnel and barricades secured the area.
Abhishek Bachchan was seen alongside the security team, monitoring the arrangements as his father acknowledged the fans. Neither Bachchan nor his family has publicly commented on the new arrangement. The appearance itself, however, sent its own message: the tradition will continue, but under visibly tighter protection.
The heightened security follows a threatening email received in October that reportedly named Jalsa, the Mumbai mayor’s office and the venue of singer Diljit Dosanjh’s upcoming Mumbai concert as possible targets, with a possible attack window between October 31 and November 27. Mumbai Police stepped up security and surveillance at the locations named in the email, and an investigation was opened.
The incidents AICWA cited
To make its case, AICWA pointed to a series of recent incidents involving people from the entertainment industry. The letter refers to the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, the firing outside Salman Khan’s residence, the knife attack on Saif Ali Khan, and incidents involving filmmaker Rohit Shetty, comedian Kapil Sharma and actor Tiger Shroff.
The most recent of these was the firing incident involving Tiger Shroff in Juhu on October 18. Reports circulating after that incident claimed the attackers had also visited the residences of Bachchan and Salman Khan but could not open fire because of the security arrangements there. Those claims remain unconfirmed reports, and the incidents listed involve different circumstances that should not be assumed to be connected without evidence.
What happens next
For now, the ball is in the government’s court. AICWA’s central request, an NIA investigation into gangster and extortion networks targeting the film industry, would be a significant step if accepted, since it would lift the matter beyond routine local policing. Even if the demands are met only in part, the letter has already turned a viral photograph into a policy question: whether Mumbai’s film world can function in the open, in front of the fans who made it.
FAQs
Why did AICWA write to PM Modi?
The association wrote after Amitabh Bachchan greeted fans from behind a bulletproof glass enclosure at Jalsa on November 1, and cited a series of threats and attacks involving film personalities to seek stronger protection.
What did AICWA demand in its letter?
Foolproof security for film personalities and their families, a crackdown on gangster and extortion networks with an NIA investigation, fast track trials with strict punishment, and restoration of law and order in Mumbai.
Why is Bachchan meeting fans from behind glass?
Security was tightened after a threatening email in October reportedly named his Jalsa residence among possible targets, and after the recent firing incident involving Tiger Shroff in Juhu.
Has the government responded to the letter?
As of November 3, no public response from the Prime Minister’s Office has been reported. AICWA said it has full faith that necessary action will be taken at the earliest.
Will the Sunday fan meet at Jalsa continue?
Yes, Bachchan continued the tradition on November 1 despite the new enclosure.
