Amitabh Bachchan greeted fans from behind a bulletproof enclosure outside his residence in Mumbai during his customary Sunday greeting. The security measure follows a bomb threat and the recent shooting attempt on actor Tiger Shroff, which has put the film industry on alert.

The 84-year-old actor greets fans outside his home Jalsa, in Juhu, almost every Sunday, and has done so for decades. This time, he stood on an elevated platform in a transparent bulletproof shell, with his son Abhishek Bachchan and security personnel around him.

The latest threat came in an email sent on Friday, 6 November, to the Bombay High Court. The message threatened bomb blasts at the court, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Mahalaxmi Racecourse and Jalsa.

Friday threat turns out to be a hoax

Police put the city on high alert and searched all the locations with the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad. No suspicious items were found, and the threat turned out to be a hoax.

Mumbai Police are tracing the IP address from which the email was sent. The police took the threat seriously and stepped up security at all the locations named in the message.

It was the second security scare for the Bachchan family in recent weeks. On Sunday, 1 November, Bachchan had also greeted fans from behind the bulletproof enclosure.

The October threat that started it

An earlier email, sent on 23 October to Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde and Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi, had warned of a grenade attack on a school on 31 October and threatened to target Jalsa between 31 October and 27 November.

The message, which referenced Khalistan, claimed that an attack would take place during singer Diljit Dosanjh's concert at the Mahalaxmi Race Course area on 27 November. Police searched the civic headquarters and other locations, and found nothing suspicious.

After the message, security was increased at the mayor's office, the Mahalaxmi Racecourse, prominent educational institutions and all the places named in the threat.

A tradition that continues despite the threats

Despite the repeated threats, the actor's regular practice of greeting his fans on Sundays has continued without a break.

The bulletproof enclosure is the most visible change to the ritual, a sheet of transparent armour placed between the actor and the crowd that gathers to see him.

Others in the film industry have also tightened security following a firing incident targeting actor Tiger Shroff. His Diwali gatherings this year are said to have been low-key events, attended only by family.