A phone wiretapping scandal in India, too

It isn’t quite as grand as the current controversy over the "Hello Garci" tapes, in the wake of which, however shakily, La Gloria seems to have recovered her footing. What’s fascinating is that Mumbai (Bombay), India’s brassiest, most famous and most populous city is being rocked by an investigation into the Maharashtra capital's world-renowned film industry Bollywood, and its very strong ties with organized crime.

The tale of the tape was first published by a newspaper, the launch-edition of the influential Hindustani Times in Mumbai (Bombay). The daily ran excerpts of a "Hello Aishwa" phone conversation in which one of the top movie actors, Salman Khan, bragged of his association with the criminal underworld to one of Bollywood’s most-globally recognized stars, Aishwariya Rai, 31, a former Miss Universe whose films I’ve enjoyed, incidentally, especially Devdas. Salman, too, is one of the most renowned action stars, whom this writer, a secret masala aficionado, knows from several flicks. His rambunctious career, though, has taken a slight beating from his not-too-secret gangland connections and suspected, dare I say drug taking. Judging from the first movie I saw of his, I can only remark his exciting life has aged him quite a bit.

In any event, the Congress-led government in Mumbai will soon announce the findings of a police investigation into the "taped" telephone conversations. The tapes were obtained only recently, it appears, but the conversations occurred four years ago admitted Mumbai’s police commissioner, A.N. Roy. The film industry in Mumbai which produces about 120 movies per year, has rallied to Salman’s defense, accusing the media of over-hyping it. Sounds familiar?

The first "victory" of prosecutors to break Bollywood’s ties with criminal "sponsors" was won in the year 2000 with the conviction of Bharat Shah, both a diamond-dealer and film producer. It led to investigations into other actors and directors.

The leaders of the opposition Bharatiya Janata party have been organizing street protests against the alleged Bollywood-gangland partnership. Mob action in India is just like our rallies here – but they’ve never been able to mount anything they can rightly describe as "people power". The fact is that Mumbai – why did they change that familiar name of Bombay to that unknown historical appellation? – teem with 15 million inhabitants (many of them squatters) and the streets and squares are so packed with people that you never know whether it’s a rally or just everyday people pollution.

Rushing to the airport there, I’ve learned from several visits, is an obstacle course in which darting pedestrians and careening cars (those intrepid and reckless drivers are more skilled than the Grand Prix champions) evade disaster by a bare centimeter through every high-speed twist and turn.

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Anyway, the latest wiretapped phone calls scandal in Bombay demonstrates that it’s not just our La Presidenta or Erap para sa Mahirap (if you believe the Chavit Singson tapes) who are indiscreet in phone conversation. And that eavesdroppers may be taping what you say on your cellphone or telephone.

But why all the fuss and bother over Salman Khan’s boasting claim to the glamorous Aishwariya Rai (who’s also been appearing in Hollywood films)? The fact that gangsters underwrite Bollywood productions has long been known. It was even the theme of the latest musical of the genius, Britain’s Andrew Lloyd Webber (Phantom of the Opera, just out as a movie, too; Evita, Cats, and Jesus Christ, Superstar). I went to London to see Lord Andrew’s Bombay Dreams when it opened there some three years ago, and saw it again last year. It wasn’t a huge success, to put it kindly. The Bombay Dreams plot evolved around a poor but handsome young fellow from the legendary squatter slums of the city who rocketed to movie stardom but abandoned his idealistic dreams of helping his fellow hovel-dwellers, including his aged but loving mother, etc. Really masala. The musical attacked filmdom’s gangster overlord who, in the last act, after much tragedy and bloodshed, gets his comeuppance.

Alas, the musical failed to take off in London and also collapsed on Broadway when Lloyd Webber tried to recoup with a more glittering super-production in New York City. Oh well. It had only one good number – a stirring, shaking, hip-wrenching dance sequence which got your bones boogying even in your seat, its musical beat compelling. However, Lord Andrew’s gigantic musical genius, sad to say, deserted him in that opus. His flop goes to show that you can’t be the darling of the Muses forever. Just as I’ve discovered to my sorrow that nobody can write sensible columns on a daily basis – often enough, every pundit pens something stupid.

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Gee whiz. I hope that yesterday’s column – in which I said that our Special MOPC Luncheon Forum starring GMA’s "New Economic Team" would be held "next Friday" didn’t convey the wrong impression. That Lunch will be held tomorrow (Friday) in the Skytop restaurant on the top floor of the Inter-Continental Hotel in Makati.

Businessmen and diplomats have been signing up to attend tomorrow’s forum hastily organized to accommodate the requests of those who went to the gala MOPC Diplomatic Night Dinner last Monday to enable them to directly "dialogue" with the new Finance Secretary Gary Teves, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Jose Mario C. Buñag, and Customs Commissioner Alexander M. Arevalo.

Methinks meeting the new BIR Commissioner will be interesting to not only businessmen but citizens at large in this taxing season. Jose "Jojo" (not Joho) Buñag, who moved up from his Deputy Commissioner position to BIR Chief when Willy Parayno resigned, technically OIC, was the Founding and Managing Partner of Buñag & Asso-ciates from June to December 2002, and previously from 1987 to 2002 was a law partner of former Senator, Education Secretary and presidential candidate Raul Roco, as Senior Partner then Managing Partner (1987 to 2002) of Roco Buñag Kapunan & Migallos Law Office in the Ortigas Center.

He graduated Class Valedictorian of his law class in the Ateneo de Manila University, getting a Bachelor of Laws cum laude, in 1968. He also earned a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from the Ateneo in 1964. Buñag is a Bar Topnotcher, copping second place out of 1,700 candidates in 1968.

Buñag obtained a Masters of Comparative Jurisprudence in 1973 from the New York University School of Law as University Fellow, then took the Graduate Course in Taxation from the same NYU in 1984-1985. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1989. Indeed, when he graduated from Ateneo high school – a Blue Eagle, through and through mind you, he won the Gold Medal for Excellence and First Honors, Gold Medal for Religion, Physics, Latin, Tagalog and History. (Probably studied Tagalog under my classmate, Prof. Onofre Pagsanjan who founded Ateneo’s renowned Dulaang Sibol).

He hails from Infanta, Quezon.

There you are. See you tomorrow at the Skytop. Unless you’re a tax evader who wants to stay incognito. Just kidding. Buñag says he’s not going to target movie stars or "famous" personalities, but simply encourage people to pay their taxes.