Sanjay Gupta reveals shocking Bollywood entourage demands: “I know actors with six vans, ek mein sahab nanga baithte hain, ek mein kitchen..."

Sanjay Gupta reveals shocking Bollywood entourage demands: “I know actors with six vans, ek mein sahab nanga baithte hain, ek mein kitchen..."

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has offered a candid and somewhat shocking look into how Bollywood stars are inflating production costs with their growing entourage demands. Speaking on Cyrus Broacha’s podcast, Gupta, who has been in the industry for four decades, said that while older actors preferred simplicity, many contemporary stars now arrive on set with multiple vanity vans and an army of staff.

Gupta began by contrasting the old-school attitude of Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, and Hrithik Roshan with newer trends. “All the old-school guys, including Mr Bachchan, and Ajay Devgn and Hrithik Roshan, they only have one makeup guy and one spot boy. Producers complain about entourage costs, and rightfully so, and suddenly you’re paying lakhs,” he said. He added that Amitabh Bachchan still pays for his own team out of pocket and never passes the cost on to producers. “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’.”

Gupta then broke down the excesses of some modern stars. “I know certain actors who have six makeup vans. It’s mandatory. The first van is his personal space. Wahan saab nanga baithte hain (Sir sits naked in that van). Then, next to that is saab’s other van, wahan pe saab makeup and hair karte hain (There, sir has his makeup and hair done). Uske baaju mein is the van jahan saab meetings karte hain (In the van next to that, sir has his meetings). Hear me out. There’s a fourth van, which has his gym. Wahan saab workout karte hain (Sir works out there).”

Each extra van also means more staff. “Workout van means he’ll bring his trainer, his assistant, the driver of the van, and the maintenance man of the van. That’s six people for one van. Then, makeup and hair and the stylists have their own assistants,” Gupta explained.

The filmmaker went further, revealing the need for kitchen vans. “Where were we? Number five: Saaab khana khayega, bhookha thodi rahega (Sir has to eat; he can’t stay hungry, can he)? A chef stays on set, and all day, he’s just weighing food by the gram. That’s the fifth van. Then there is a sixth van! Paanch van ka staff kidhar baithega (Where will the staff sit)?”

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According to Gupta, star couples take this trend even further. “There are 11 vans that come on set. Don’t they eat together at home? They’re husband-wife, and still they have separate kitchen vans! I’m not exaggerating at all. This is a fact.”

The director stressed that the size of entourages has exploded. “But now, a team of two or three has become a team of 30,” he said. Rising entourage costs have been a sore point in the industry, especially with the economic slowdown over the last five years. Gupta’s anecdotes underline a growing debate: whether such star indulgences are sustainable at a time when producers are struggling to cut costs.