Two Bollywood actors have come to the defence of fellow star and Congress MP Govinda, who is embroiled in a controversy over his alleged links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.

Actor Jackie Shroff said the recent footage showing Govinda hobnobbing with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim did not speak ill about him while admitting that film stars did face a threat from the underworld.

"We all know that the there is a threat to our life from the underworld and the recent footage shown by the news channel does not make Govinda a criminal. He is innocent," Shroff, who was here to attend a fashion show, told IANS.

He said Govinda was a nice person and some television footage showing him with a criminal would not dent his image.

"I do not know the truth but he may have got some threat from the people concerned to be part of the event. If someone threatens my family and me then I would not hesitate to attend an event for our safety," he added.

"I hope like me there are a lot of people in our industry who believe that Govinda is above suspicion."

This week a news channel aired video clips showing Govinda in the company of underworld mafia Dawood Ibrahim apparently at the inauguration of a store in Dubai. However, it was not clear when the footage was shot.

Govinda himself said he was the victim of a political controversy and that he met Dawood "under pressure and threat" 16 years ago in Dubai.

Actor Javed Jafri said that the whole episode had needlessly been hyped.

"The episode is nothing else but sensationalisation. Without proving anything how can one come to the conclusion that a person is guilty," said Jafri.

"I think, there is nothing underhand in the whole episode and Govinda is not what the television presented him to be," he added.

However, others did not want to enter the controversy. "I have no idea about the event, hence I won't comment on it," said model-turned-actor Bipasha Basu.