Actor Isha Koppikar, who has worked across languages in India, opened up about the ongoing debate around rising entourage costs of stars. In recent months, several members of the film industry have complained that mounting projects has become more costly because the majority of a film's budget goes to its star. The star comes with dozens of team members, all of whom are paid for by the producer. They also demand as many as six vanity vans on set, with the expectation that producers will foot the bill for them as well. In an appearance on Cyrus Broacha's podcast, Isha pointed a finger at the producers who've encouraged such behaviour, and accused them of having exploited young stars when they felt that they could get away with it. She said that the industry will course-correct if producers put their foot down and decide that they will not give in to such high demands. "Producers know what they are getting into. When an actor starts his journey, the same producer would've probably signed him for less. When that actor becomes a superstar, he might demand more," she said. Also read - As star fees, entourage costs skyrocket, Hindi film industry technicians, writers and actors ‘bleed’: Bollywood’s horror show Isha continued, "So, if an actor asks for entourage, a village, a chef, or gyms, the producer knows what they are getting into. The fault is in the system. No superstar can make a hit film without good content. Producers complain, but the same people sign stars because they know that the star's presence helps finance the project." Addressing actors, she said, "There has to be a responsibility. I'm not saying don't charge more, but there has to be a limit. I come from a time when producers used to put their houses on the line. Why don't they make a rule about this and stick to it? If you stop giving in to these demands, the star will automatically reduce them after sitting at home for five years; he'll come crawling back. Producers should wait and not complain." Recently, another of Shah Rukh's former co-stars, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, said that it is a matter of pride for some to have leased out an unreasonable number of vanity vans. He said in an interview on the Know Time YouTube channel, "So much money is wasted on providing useless perks to people. Not enough money is being spent on the films. They’ll create ‘bhaukaal’ out of pointless things. They’ll brag about not leaving a single light in Mumbai; every light in Mumbai is on their set. They’ll brag about having every last vanity van in Mumbai on their set. How is this something to boast about?” Previously, also in a chat with Cyrus, director Sanjay Gupta revealed that a certain Bollywood star was fired from a South Indian project because he showed up to set with six vanity vans that the producer had no idea he was expected to pay for. Sanjay Gupta also revealed that a star couple demand separate vans even when they're working on the same project, meaning that there were as many as 11 vans on set for them. He said, “I know certain actors who have six makeup vans. It’s mandatory. The first van is his personal space. This is real; I’m very serious. Wahan saab nanga baithte hain (Sir sits naked in that van). Then, next to that is saab’s other van, wahan pe saab makeup and hair karte hain (There, sir has his makeup and hair done). Uske baaju mein is the van jahan saab meetings karte hain (In the van next to that, sir has his meetings). Hear me out. There’s a fourth van, which has his gym. Wahan saab workout karte hain (Sir works out there). I said fine. You have to keep one thing in mind; workout van means he’ll bring his trainer, his assistant, the driver of the van, and the maintainance man of the van. That’s six people for one van. Then, makeup and hair and the stylists have their own assistants.” In a chat with Humans of Bombay, filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt recalled working on an ad recently with his daughter, Alia Bhatt, and actor Amitabh Bachchan, and revealed that even Alia's infant daughter, Raha, had a vanity van for herself on set. "I recently did an ad with her and Mr Bachchan. I saw that there was a vanity which was for Raha. And Alia says, ‘Why don’t you go an sit in Raha’s room papa?’ I didn’t want to contaminate it. It had the feeling of a nursery school. It almost looked like a temple," he said. Earlier, director Anurag Kashyap and choreographer Farah Khan also spoke about the rising costs of entourages, and how badly they're affecting film financing. Hindi cinema has been going through a period of uncertainty for the last several years, although there have been a handful of hits that have broken out.
