Jul 23, 2024 11:52 AM IST
Gulshan Grover calls out the producers who are complaining about actors’ large entourage costs, asserting that there are no hidden costs in an actor’s fees.
Actor Gulshan Grover has come down hard on the arguments against actors’ high fees and entourage costs, stating that producers are “well aware” of the expenses that are part of signing an actor onto a project.
“Any expenses associated with a particular star are calculated by the producer before bringing them on board. Producers are just unnecessarily highlighting this issue now. How can you compare the current scenario to the past?” says the actor, adding that actors need a support system around them to be able to give their best during filming.
With big budget films underperforming at the box office, several producers have recently spoken out against actors’ entourage costs, which increase a film’s budget, leading to a wider gap in its profit and loss margins.
“Whether a star is a few hours late or wants to leave at a certain time for whatever reason, all of this is part and parcel of signing the star. Anyone complaining about this has been left in the past and is behind the times,” Grover asserts.
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The 68-year-old goes on to say that these expenses shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially since producers know the demands that big names often have on sets: “Nothing is unknown; expenses are calculated when a star is signed. If you sign a star and know that they don’t show up on time, you either calculate three hours of work loss or you make arrangements so you can shoot something else until they arrive.”
He also reveals that filmmaker Subhash Ghai had resorted to setting up separate sets while shooting Ram Lakhan (1989). “There was a major set where Rakhi ji was required, but because of certain situations, there wasn’t a fixed time for her to show up. So, he had a set for my scenes with Anil Kapoor and another for Anupam Kher and Satish Kaushik’s scenes. He (Ghai) would arrive on set early in the morning and would begin shooting with the actors who came in on time. He had the kind of progressive, forward thinking that helped him work around the stars’ temperaments,” he ends.
