It is a truth universally acknowledged that movie stars are spoiled. I chatted with executives and technicians about what current Bollywood stars want. Here are the most common demands.
Private planes: Nothing proclaims one’s status like photos from inside a private plane. So actors are increasingly demanding chartered planes for domestic travel. One large-hearted producer even paid close to ₹2 crore to fly his superstar hero to London, on a private jet, for a shoot. Stars are now squabbling over the model of aircraft. “For domestic, it’s usually VistaJet and Legacy.”
Food trucks: Veteran actor Rakhee Gulzar was known for cooking for the entire unit the day a film wrapped. Producer Ismail Merchant was legendary for using his culinary skills to seduce actors into signing films. Now, it’s gone a step further. A-listers are demanding personal food trucks manned by one or two chefs who can create customised meals. Leasing these trucks can cost up to ₹1 lakh a day. The real tragedy, a harried producer told me, “is that most of the stars are doing intermittent fasting and barely eating. So the chef is making coffee or one slice of grilled salmon through the entire day."
Star treatment for managers too: Star entourages routinely range from six to 12 people; even the assistants have assistants. Now, the manager has become a kind of star too. Not only must they be flown wherever the star is going, they must be flown business-class, and put up at the same hotel. As one producer said: “The manager then becomes the mouthpiece for all the grievances of the star, from the hotel room to the costume to the airplane seat. And they must be taken along because ‘Instagram Reel kaun banaega?’”
Miscellany: One A-lister sometimes likes to spend the night before a shoot on location, so his vanity van is kept ready, on site, cooled by a generator, in case he shows up. Another wants showering options on set, but won’t risk swallowing unpurified water. So the tank of his vanity van is filled with Bisleri water. And my favourite: One actress reportedly specifies not just which airline she prefers but which aircraft too. She prefers Boeing to Airbus.
Anupamaa
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