Producers in Bollywood have long been complaining about the rising entourage costs of actors. In a recent chat with Cyrus Broacha on his podcast, director Sanjay Gupta revealed that while some actors demand as many as six vanity vans with them on set, a superstar like Amitabh Bachchan never even lets the proßducer pay for his staff.
Sanjay Gupta says some actors demand 6 vanity vans
Sanjay explained that old-school stars such as Hrithik Roshan and Amitabh Bachchan have only one makeup person and one spot boy. He then revealed that he knows actors who arrive with six “mandatory” vanity vans and explained, “This is real; I’m very serious. The first van is his personal space. Wahan saab nanga baithte hain (In one van, sir sits naked). Next to that is sir’s other van, where he does his makeup and hair. Then, there is the van where sir holds his meetings. The fourth van is his gym, where sir works out.”
Sanjay Gupta elaborated that when a workout van is brought in, it doesn’t just mean the van alone, it also includes a trainer, an assistant, the driver, and a maintenance man. That’s six people attached to just one van. On top of that, the makeup and hair team, along with stylists, all bring their own assistants.
He further pointed out that food is another necessity. An actor cannot be left hungry, so a chef is stationed on set all day, weighing food by the gram. That requires another van. Gupta highlighted that a sixth van is needed simply to seat the staff of the previous five vans.
Sanjay Gupta heaps praise on Amitabh Bachchan
The director also remarked that star couples are “even worse,” before heaping praise on Amitabh Bachchan. He recalled, “There are 11 vans that come on set. Don’t they eat together at home? They’re husband and wife, and still they have separate kitchen vans! I’m not exaggerating at all. This is a fact. Mr Bachchan never, ever lets you pay his staff. There is nothing. No per-day, no conveyance. He says, ‘It’s my staff; it’s not the producer’s lookout’. His makeup man, his hairstylist, his driver, his boy… That’s Mr Bachchan for you. But now, a team of two or three has become a team of 30.”
Even before Sanjay Gupta’s comments, both Rakesh Roshan and Farah Khan had pointed out the same problem during Farah’s cooking vlog, criticising actors who demand six vanity vans on set. Farah also mentioned that some actors hire a personal chef just to cook them healthy food.
About Sanjay Gupta
Sanjay Gupta made his directorial debut in 1994 with Aatish: Feel the Fire and went on to gain recognition for films such as Kaante (2002), Musafir (2004), Shootout at Lokhandwala (2007), Shootout at Wadala (2013), Jazbaa (2015), and Kaabil (2017). His most recent film was the 2024 sports drama The Miranda Brothers, produced under his banner White Feather Films. Starring Harshvardhan Rane and Meezaan Jafri, the film was released on JioCinema and received mixed reviews from critics.
