Gulshan Grover disagrees with producers criticising actors for charging high fess, entourage cost: ‘Producers are just unnecessarily highlighting this issue now’

Actor Gulshan Grover joins the discussion on the rising fees of stars in Bollywood. Grover says he disagrees with producers who are slamming actors for their exorbitant fees.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: July 23, 2024 03:32 PM IST

5 min read

Gulshan Grover opens up about exorbitant star fees and entourage costs in Bollywood (Photo: Instagram/gulshangrover)

Exorbitant star fees and actors’ entourage costs have been hot topics in recent months, with even prominent filmmakers like Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap sharing their two cents. Actors such as Kartik Aaryan and Anil Kapoor have also publicly expressed concerns about how these inflated costs strain producers’ budgets. However, veteran actor Gulshan Grover has a different perspective. Grover strongly disagrees with the criticism leveled at actors’ high fees and entourage expenses, arguing that producers are fully aware of these costs before signing an actor.

“Any expenses associated with a particular star are calculated by the producer before bringing them on board. Producers are just unnecessarily highlighting this issue now. How can you compare the current scenario to the past?” he asserted in an interview with Hindustan Times.

The actor emphasises the importance of a strong support system for actors to deliver their best performances. This comes as several producers have voiced their frustration over ballooning budgets due to actors’ fees and entourage costs.

Dismissing the complaints, Grover maintained, “Whether a star is a few hours late or wants to leave at a certain time for whatever reason, all of this is part and parcel of signing the star. Anyone complaining about this has been left in the past and is behind the times.”

The 68-year-old actor further explained that producers should anticipate such expenses when working with big stars. “Nothing is unknown; expenses are calculated when a star is signed. If you sign a star and know that they don’t show up on time, you either calculate three hours of work loss or you make arrangements so you can shoot something else until they arrive,” he stated.

Gulshan Grover also shared a fascinating anecdote about filmmaker Subhash Ghai‘s innovative approach to managing star schedules during the making of Ram Lakhan (1989). Due to the unpredictable nature of actress Rakhee, Ghai created separate sets to ensure uninterrupted shooting with other actors. This forward-thinking strategy allowed him to efficiently manage the complexities of working with big stars. “There was a major set where Rakhee ji was required, but because of certain situations, there wasn’t a fixed time for her to show up. So, he had a set for my scenes with Anil Kapoor and another for Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik’s scenes. He (Ghai) would arrive on set early in the morning and would begin shooting with the actors who came in on time. He had the kind of progressive, forward thinking that helped him work around the stars’ temperaments,” he reminisced.

Recently, during the trailer launch of Kill, Karan Johar said, “The entourage cost is the least of our worry. It’s the main remuneration of the actors that has to be looked into. It’s very critical for all the actors to understand exactly how the times are, how the climate of our movies are, how tough and difficult it is to maneuver through making a motion picture of any magnitude or size.”

Indian Express has extensively reported how exorbitant star fees and outrageous demands of actors and their entourage – make up, hairdresser, stylists, and other crew members – have dented the film business, ballooning up budgets and stripping off dignified pay for artistes in other departments.

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Filmmaker Farah Khan and actors like Anil Kapoor, Kriti Sanon and Janhvi Kapoor are among those who have also spoken about issue. “I heard what Karan Johar said about the exorbitant fees that actors are charging these days and I completely agree with him. My father, who was a producer, my family, and I have gone through tough times trying to make good films. We tried to put in our money, but the star fees and entourage costs were so high that it became almost impossible to fund the kind of quality films we wanted to make,” Anil, who bankrolled Gandhi My Father, Aisha, Veere Di Wedding, and Khubsoorat, among others, exclusively told Indianexpress.com, adding “It disturbs the budget significantly,” he noted. “I have gone through this as a producer, and it really pinches.”

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