Over 500 personnel drawn from the Special Branch, Crime Branch and the local police, and costing the exchequer Rs 5 lakh per month, are routinely deployed to protect a handful of just 20 filmwallahs, disclosed a senior officer of the Special Branch-I, scoffing at the sudden rush of `fear' among Mumbai's exalted ones.

Often, the threat perception from the underworld is exaggerated, he points out, casting a cynical glance at the security register. At times, the threats turn out to be mere hoaxes and on other occasions, scared film stars cry wolfwithout reason, he adds.

For instance, film star Govinda was provided a five-man, armed escort after he reportedly received threats last month. However, the Juhu police say he had actually received a telephone call from someone claiming to be a well-wisher wanting to share some information about him after meeting him at Deonar. To the cops' chagrin, no one turned up despite laying a trap twice.

``It may have been a crank call or a clever ploy from an obsessed fan desperate to meet his icon,'' observes a deputy commissioner of police. Govinda's sympathisers, though, maintain that the star is under threat from two gangs, led by Babloo Srivastava and Chhota Shakeel.

Similarly, even Mamta Kulkarni's personal assistant was reportedly kidnapped recently to throw a scare into the actress. The D N Nagar police, however, turned down her plea for protection but they had to give in after pressure was brought to bear on them.

The sulking cops are especially bitter with the insistent demands, seeing them as a ployby film stars to flaunt their popularity. Says an officer of the Bandra police station: ``We realise that at times it is more a question of flaunting their shan-o-shaukat than a genuine need for security.''

The moment some of the stars were asked to foot the bill for their own security, the list magically shrunk to less than half its size, he points out. Most film personalities reside in the western suburbs, under the jurisdiction of six police stations, each comprising about 130 personnel.

``We are already fighting against an acute manpower crunch in these police stations. We do not even have enough personnel for crime detection, follow-up and patrolling. How can we rush to protect every paranoid film star,'' cribs an additional commissioner of police.

Soon after the murder of audio cassette magnate Gulshan Kumar in August last year, which was preceded by attacks on producers Subhash Ghai and Rajiv Rai, there was a headlong rush from Bollywood for security. On one occasion, as many as 24 peoplewere obliged. Police had also decided to protect producers like Yash Chopra, B R Chopra and comedian of yesteryear Johnny Walker. At present, though, the register lists just 20 `protected' persons.

In some cases, police are forced to give in to persistent demands. For instance, south-Mumbai based film director, R P Anand, was provided cover by the reluctant D B Marg police, who have placed one revolver-toting constable at his disposal.

On several occasions, security has been withdrawn when the threats don't pan out. The personalities in this category include Border director, J P Dutta, music director Uttam Singh Badripal, Girdharilal Sakseria, Lalit Raj Pandit and Dhaal producer Suresh Grover.

Says Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Dr P S Pasricha, who heads the Special Branch: ``We cannot disclose security details. We are making every effort to ensure that nothing goes wrong.''

A senior Crime Branch officer says at present only three persons face genuine threats -- Subhash Ghai,Shatrughan Sinha and Dilip Kumar. Others include Amitabh Bachchan (who has been given `Y' category security following threats from Khalistani terrorists), Raj Babbar (who is a member of the Samajwadi Party), producer Manmohan Shetty, Narottam Purohit and Gulshan Kumar's younger brother, Kishan Kumar.