Kamal Ghorui
In recent times, one has often seen industry insiders talking about the growing cost of entourage of actors and how it becomes a huge burden on the film’s budget and the producers. Many producers, directors like Karan Johar, Anurag Kashyap among others have discussed it. Actors like John Abraham also expressed shock to know that the per day fee of a stylist goes up to Rs 1 lakh and more. Now in a recent interview, Taapsee Pannu has also opened up on it. The actress said during an interview with Bollywood Hungama, “I was seeing interviews and a couple of producers were complaining about how stars have so much cost attached to them and they have such a huge entourage cost. This was such a heated discussion. They said that stars have 4–5 people following them everywhere.”She went on to say that her own experiences with some of the industry’s biggest names suggest otherwise. Having worked with stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan, she believes the idea that every actor travels with a large team is largely a misconception. “Firstly, it is not the case with every star. I have worked with the industry’s two biggest stars, Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan also for that matter, but when I was working with Shah Rukh sir there aren’t as many people around him. It’s a myth that all actors have huge entourage.”Taapsee also pointed out that producers themselves play a role in sustaining this system. According to her, it is contradictory for them to publicly criticise actors’ demands while continuing to hire them under the same conditions. “Yes, some actors do have huge entourages, but my question is that the people who are giving these interviews and producers who have a problem with that, they are the ones who are actually giving work to those stars and actors who have this kind of entourage. These actors are called delusional for demanding so much in this economy, but then these producers are only giving them this. Either you change it or don’t complain about it. From the outside, what do I believe? What they are saying in interviews or what they are doing in real life.”Earlier, filmmaker Karan Johar had also spoken about the issue and the rising expenses tied to actors’ teams. On Komal Nahta’s show, ‘Game Changers’, he revealed how costly hair and makeup teams have become for producers. “I can’t tell you the cost they charge for hair and makeup. I would like Roohi and Yash to become hair and makeup artists because they are making more money than a lot of other people,” he said.He further added, “My problem is with actors who are getting mammoth payments and still expect the producers to pay for their basic needs. Show some grace. It’s strange to me when these small issues become points of contention. I don’t understand why some actors travel with six to eight people in their entourage.”
