Tarannum Khan is an Indian bar dancer who became famous in 2003 when Indian counterfeiter Abdul Karim Telgi fell in love with her.
Wiki/Biography
Tarannum Khan was born in 1979 in Andheri, Mumbai (age 44 in 2023). She studied Advanced Diploma in Computing Education (ADCE).
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′6″
Hair Color: Black
Eye color: black
family
parents and siblings
Tarannam’s father, Zafar Ulla Khan, was a shopkeeper. She has a brother and a sister.
husband and children
Not much information is available about her husband.
religion
She believes in Islam. In media photos of her in police custody, she often wore a burqa.
The story of becoming a bar dancer
Tarannam grew up in a Muslim family in Mumbai. She lives with her parents in Andheri, where her father runs a small shop. Her family consists of six members including her parents, brother, sister, niece and parents. They faced difficulties because her father’s shop did not make enough money. In 1992, during the Mumbai riots, their house and shop were looted and the family lost their place to live. They had to live in a relief camp in Mirat Nagar, Andheri as they had no other option. Her father suffered a heart attack and was unable to get out of bed due to the difficult situation. The Thalanam family slept outdoors for three nights in the Lokhandwala area. They had no food and no place to stay. After those three nights, her mother made a desperate decision to do whatever it took to find food for her children. After completing her studies, Taranham worked in various low-paying jobs, but they were still not enough to pay for her parents’ meals and medical bills. A woman came up to her and suggested she go dance in a bar to make money. Initially, her family did not agree with the idea as she had only completed grade 12, but eventually, her parents allowed her to dance.
life of a bar dancer
She started working at Deepa Bar, a dance bar in Mumbai. She was only 16 years old when she joined the bar. Within days of joining the bar, she became the most attractive bar performer in Mumbai. Many people came to the bar from far away just to watch her dance. She became popular for her resemblance to actress Madhuri Dixit. She is used to coming home at 6 a.m., having breakfast, and going to bed at 7 a.m. She used to get up at 4 p.m. to go to the bar, where she worked 14 hours a day. She can earn around Rs. 8,000 to 10,000 when working in a gym. From 1995 to 1996, when she was 16 years old, she went to perform on the Dee Biden stage. Abdul Karim Telgi, the prime suspect in the stamp paper scam in 2003, reportedly fell in love with her and spent more than Rs. On December 31, 2001, she received Rs 90 lakh.
Income tax department raids
In September 2005, the Income Tax Department raided her home and found jewellery, cash and property worth Rs 100 crore. 2.2 million. Police suspect she has links with bookies and some cricketers. They took her passport for inspection but returned it days later. Her phone records showed 93 numbers, including 27 bookmakers and 30 bettors. The police filed a case against Tarannam for being involved in cricket betting. A week later, she and two bookmakers named Pradip Parmar and Milind Dhiraj Nandu, also known as DJ, were arrested for gambling. Later, another person named Bhavesh Upadhyay was also arrested. Taranham admitted making “friendly bets” on cricket matches and making money from them. She was released on bail from Byculla Women’s Prison in November 2005 after police could not find enough evidence within 60 days of her arrest. She mentioned in an interview that when she started to have a good income, she was advised to file taxes. However, she was still young and didn’t understand how taxes and savings worked. Therefore, she decided to hire an accountant to handle Deepa Bar’s finances. Unfortunately, due to her lack of understanding and the unprofessional behavior of her accountant, she received incorrect guidance regarding her finances. She believed everything was fine until the police raid. However, upon her release, she realized that her chartered accountant (CA) had given her wrong advice. She also expressed guilt about not following the law because she didn’t have the proper knowledge at the time.
The impact of the raid on life in Tarannam
The Mumbai government imposed a ban on bar dancers after police raided Thalanam’s residence, leaving many dancers jobless. In 2006, Ranjit Sharma produced a film called Deepa Ki Tarannum that was inspired by Tarannum’s life. She took legal action, claiming the producers failed to ask her permission to make a film about her life. In 2014, another film, Bombay Sarab, was released, telling the story of a police raid on Thalanam’s residence.
Poster of the movie Bombay Can Dance Sara
dispute
In 2006, a security guard named Babu Singh complained about Taranum to the Varsova police station. In his complaint, he mentioned that Khan hired him with a monthly salary of Rs. 4000, but he has not received it after four months. When Singh asked Tarannam to repay the overdue Rs. 16,000, she, her father A. Khan and bodyguard Raju Pastee physically harmed him and threatened him to keep the money a secret. According to his complaint, all three were charged under sections 324 (using a dangerous weapon to cause injury), section 506 (threatening to cause serious injury or death) and section 114 (presence as an abettor of an offense).
Facts / Trivia
- She is fondly called “Tannu” by her friends and relatives.
- She is popular under the names “Millionaire Bar Dancer” and “Cropatti Bar Dancer”.
- She owns a bungalow “Tanishq” in Versova worth Rs. 1 crore.
- In 2023, the Indian Hindi biographical financial thriller TV series Scam 2003: The Telgi Story was released on SonyLIV. The play is directed by Hansal Mehta. It is based on the life of her lover Abdul Karim Telji.
Poster of web series “Scam 2003 The Telgi Story”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education