Anurag Kashyap Exposes Shocking Truth About Actors’ Tantrums and Entourages
Anurag Kashyap, the celebrated filmmaker known for his gritty and realistic portrayals of Indian life, has recently shed light on the escalating costs and demands associated with actors and their entourages in the Bollywood film industry. In a candid discussion, Kashyap revealed how these increasing expenses are impacting filmmaking and shared anecdotes about dealing with actors' inflated egos and excessive requirements.
Kashyap highlighted the "unnecessary expenditure" that has become commonplace in the industry due to the growing "entourage culture". Speaking on the YouTube channel Game Changers, he explained how costs have spiraled out of control. He pointed out the trend of individual makeup artists for each actor, which has replaced the traditional setup where a single makeup department catered to the entire cast. "Make-up is a department in a film, but now every individual actor has their own make-up artist," Kashyap stated. He recalled his earlier film, Nishaanchi, which had just one makeup artist with two assistants for the whole team, contrasting it sharply with the present scenario.
The director of Gangs of Wasseypur also drew attention to the increasing number of vanity vans, noting that in the past, actors would share a single van or sit outside on chairs. "In Gangs of Wasseypur, all the actors used to share one vanity van and the rest would sit outside on chairs. These days, one actor has three vanity vans — one for meetings, one to take rest in, and one for their assistants," he explained.
Kashyap recounted a personal experience where he approached a big star for a language workshop, only to be confronted by the actor's extensive management team. "The actor did not respond to me, but seven of his managers came to me. They told me, 'How can you message... You can't do this'," Kashyap revealed, expressing his frustration with the layers of bureaucracy that separate filmmakers from actors. This ultimately led him to quit the film, gifting the script to them. He declined to name the actor involved.
In another instance, Kashyap described how a car was once sent three hours away to get a specific five-star burger for an actor while shooting in a remote location. He has also mentioned the exorbitant fees charged by some celebrity chefs, who demand ₹2 lakh per day to prepare what he mockingly described as "strange healthy food".
Previously, Kashyap has expressed his annoyance with "mediocre" people wasting his time and has even set a strict rate card of ₹5 lakh for one hour of his time. He stated that he wasted a lot of time trying to help newcomers and mostly ended up with mediocre results.
These revelations come amidst broader discussions within the film industry about budget control and the need to streamline production costs. Kashyap's insights offer a stark reminder of the challenges faced by filmmakers striving to create meaningful cinema in an environment increasingly dominated by celebrity culture and extravagant demands.
