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‘Asrani was getting paid less than Bollywood stars’ entourage,’ says Priyadarshan: ’40-60 people are there with 4 actors’
Priyadarshan slammed Bollywood’s entourage culture, stating that people in these groups often earn more than legends like Asrani used to make.
Asrani passed last year in October.
(Photo: Asrani, Instagram)
Over the years, the discourse around the entourage culture in Bollywood has become increasingly prominent, as several producers and filmmakers have spoken out about how stars often arrive on sets with huge groups of people. This, they say, inflates film budgets and creates logistical challenges. Recently, even director Priyadarshan weighed in on the issue, saying it is something that “is worst thing in Bollywood” and is largely absent in South Indian cinema.
‘Four actors are there with 40–60 people’
Speaking to Filmfare, he said, “I tell you, I hate it. That’s the worst thing happening in Bollywood. Where four actors are there, 40–60 people are also there with them because of that I can’t even see my frame. They’re all around, touching the hair, nothing to touch, most of them don’t even have hair, so what they’re doing there? And I’m saying, ‘please clear, please clear’. There is so much crowd. The paraphernalia around actors is more than my entire setup.”
‘Earning much more than known faces like Asrani’
He added that people in these entourages often earn more than veterans and legends like Asrani used to, saying, “They’re earning much more than many known actors, like people like Asrani sir and all. They were getting much less money than these people. This nuisance is not there in the South. Even if they are there, they don’t enter the set. Only when the actors call, they come. Here, they just come and stand there.”
Priyadarshan also fondly recalled working with the late Asrani, who passed away last year in October. “Asrani sir, I am so lucky. I finished both the films with him, the last two films I directed, and the last shot was taken, and two days later he died,” he said.
Asrani will be posthumously seen in Priyadarshan’s Bhoot Bangla, which is slated to release on April 17, 2026, co-starring Akshay Kumar, Paresh Rawal, and Wamiqa Gabbi.
About Bollywood entourage culture
SCREEN reported in 2024 about the entourage costs skyrocketing and how it was ‘bleeding’ the film industry. At a time when Hindi films were struggling to make a mark on the box office post the pndemic, this became a talking point as film budgets ballooned because of the rising entourage costs.
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Since then, filmmakers like Karan Johar, Sanjay Gupta, Anurag Kashyap and many others have been quite vocal about the increasing budget of Hindi films because of actors’ entourage cost.
Watch Chetak Screen Awards 2026 LIVE on YouTube, Sony Entertainment Television, and Sony LIV on April 5 at 8 pm.
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