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‘I see 30 people doing nothing, still making money’: Priyadarshan slams ‘exhausting’ Bollywood entourage culture
Priyadarshan recently directed two Bollywood films including Akshay Kumar's Bhooth Bangla and Saif Ali Khan's Haiwaan. The filmmaker has spoken about Bollywood entourage culture, saying he dislikes it about the Hindi film industry.
Priyadarshan spoke about Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar (Photo: Express Archive)
Filmmaker Priyadarshan has commented about Bollywood entourage which has severely burdened productions and forced everyone except a star to take a huge pay cut. The film industry has seen the growing trend of actors arriving with large teams, often upto 20 in number and demanding multiple vanity vans on set. Now, filmmaker Priyadarshan has raised concern, criticising how the unnecessary crowd on set hampers work. The filmmaker, who recently worked on Bollywood films Bhooth Bangla and Haiwaan, starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, respectively, said he was ‘exhausted’ seeing so many people on a film set.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Priyadarshan said, “I only get exhausted seeing the people around actors. On a floor, if I am working with three actors, I will see 30 people who are doing nothing and just standing around. I cannot see my visuals through the camera. They are blocking my view. I have never seen this in any other place than Bollywood.” The 69-year-old filmmaker further added, “So many people come onto the set, do nothing and still make money. This exhausts me. I hate it. It’s the only thing I dislike about Bollywood.”
While Priyadarshan has complained about the entourage creating unnecessary crowd on set, SCREEN previously had reported how it adds to the burden of producers.
Sharing one such instance that was shared by a crew member on Bollywood set who didn’t want to be named, the SCREEN reported: “The shooting of a film with a star is underway. There is a lunch break, but the star’s entourage is dissatisfied with what is being served. They collectively decide to order in from a high-end Mumbai cafe. When the coffee and vegan food arrive, the production is promptly handed over the bill of Rs 15,000 for one meal. It has to be paid for by the producer, whose set food for the entourage sits there cold. Parallelly, but not far from where the set madness was happening, an actor’s fee for a supporting cast role is being negotiated by a producer. For a day’s job of Rs 30,000, the production is willing to only pay Rs 6,000. Why? Because apparently market mein paisa nahi hai.”
Trade analyst Komal Nahta had also shared a similar anecdote about stars travelling with large entourages. Speaking to Faridoon Shahryar on his YouTube channel, Nahta recalled an incident from an event in Jodhpur. “Even for an appearance, an actor will come with eight to nine people. A big star came with a costume designer, social media manager, photographer, two bouncers despite us providing security, a makeup artist and a hairdresser. He literally came wearing a suit, got down from the flight and reached the venue,” he said.
Nahta further added, “And the costume designer, just to justify her payment…” He then demonstrated by adjusting his collar, explaining how the stylist charged Rs 20,000 simply to fix the actor’s collar. “That is all she did, and the organiser had to pay her Rs 20,000,” he said.
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