Rishi claims he had tea with Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai

MUMBAI: On the one hand, the Indian government can't wait to get its hands on the alleged gangster and on the other, Bollywood legend Rishi Kapoor claimed that he had tea with Dawood Ibrahim not once, but twice in Dubai. 

Trust none other than Rishi Kapoor to come up with the most shocking things to say. In his recent biography, the veteran actor detailed how he had the chance to have tea with the notorious Dawood Ibrahim in Dubai.

Rishi narrated that when he had landed in Dubai in 1988 and was about to go somewhere from the airport, when a stranger approached him and handed him a phone. The stranger told him it was Dawood Ibrahim on the phone and he wanted to speak to the Bollywood superstar.

"Obviously, this was before the 1993 blasts in Mumbai and I didn’t think of Dawood as a fugitive on the run. He wasn’t an enemy of the state yet. Or, at least, that was the impression I had. Dawood welcomed me and said, ‘If there is anything you need, just let me know.’ He also invited me to his house. I was taken aback."

Rishi Kapoor went on to write that he did go to Ibrahim's house, where the two spoke for four hours over a cup of tea. Rishi then narrated another incident where he bumped into Dawood Ibrahim while shopping for shoes in Dubai and the year was 1989. The Bollywood superstar claimed that Dawood was surroudned by eight to ten bodyguards at the time. 

"Dawood said, ‘I am a fugitive because I will not get justice in India. There are a lot of people there who are against me. There are also many in India I have bought. I pay several politicians who are in my pocket.’ I said to him, ‘Dawood, please leave me out of all this, yaar. I am an actor and I really don’t wish to get involved.’ He understood. He was always extremely nice to me and showed me a lot of warmth."

Rishi, who essayed the role of Dawood Ibrahim in the 2013 movie D-Day, claims since then he has had no contact with Dawood Ibrahim.