‘Rs 20,000 to fix the star’s collar,’ Komal Nahta calls out entourage cost that’s making Bollywood bleed

Komal Nahta shared actor's massive entourage only add "irritation value" to a film set. He went on to share his personal experience, where a big actor's costume designer charged Rs 20,000 just to fix the actor’s collar.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | Updated: August 7, 2025 06:59 PM IST

3 min read

Komal Nahta talks about on rising entourage costs. (Pic: Faridoon Shahryar/YT)

The rise in entourage costs of Bollywood actors and how it is starting to burden film producers has been a topic of discussion and contention for many months now. Recently, trade analyst Komal Nahta weighed in on the debate and shared that the massive entourages of actors only add “irritation value” to a film set. He went on to share his personal experience, where a big star’s costume designer charged Rs 20,000 just to fix the actor’s collar.

Speaking to Faridoon Shahryar on his YouTube channel, he said, “Entourage doesn’t interfere in the script of the film or its making. The negative points of entourage is the cost to the producer and the irritation value. They irritate the smooth functioning. The entourage doesn’t have the power to turn a good film into a bad one, but it is definitely a wastage of money.”

Komal shared a personal experience involving a big star who arrived with an entourage of 8-9 people for an appearance in Jodhpur. He said, “Even for an appearance, an actor will come with 8 to 9 people. The big star came with the costume designer, social media manager, photographer, two bouncers despite us providing security, makeup man, hairdresser. He literally came wearing a suit, got down from the flight and reached the venue.”

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Sharing an example of the futile cost of an entourage, he said, “And the costume designer, just to justify her payment…” Then Komal went on to adjust his collar, showing how the costume designer took Rs 20,000 just to fix the collar of the actor. He went on to say, “That is all she did and the organiser had to pay her Rs 20,000.”

Earlier, former journalist Rajeev Masand, the COO of the Dharma Cornerstone Agency, also spoke about the entourage costs of actors. In an interaction with The Hollywood Reporter India, he said, “I do think that costs have spiralled irrationally. If hair and makeup is getting paid more than the editor of a film or the writer of a film, there’s a problem. Actors need to take a stand, but really, the ball is finally in the court of the producers. They need to unite and say we’re not going to encourage this.”

In 2024, SCREEN had reported extensively on the rising entourage costs. The report stated how, in some cases, the spot boys of a star would charge Rs 25,000 per day on average, personal security would pocket Rs 15,000 per head per day, and a stylist would charge up to Rs 1 lakh.

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