Gulshan Devaiah on rising entourage costs: Producers are now realising it isn’t worth it anymore

Actor Gulshan Devaiah recently shared his two cents on the rising entourage cost of actors and also extended his support to filmmaker Anurag Kashyap over his statement on the matter.

Earlier, in various interviews, Anurag had spoken about how a lot of money spent on a film is not used directly in its making. “It goes into the paraphernalia, it goes into the entourage. You’re shooting in the middle of a jungle, but one car will be sent to the city three hours away specifically to get you that five-star burger you want.”

In a recent interview, Gulshan spoke about entourage costs and he also asked that since producers shelled out that amount earlier, why are they complaining now. “Maybe Anurag in his experience has seen some actors like that. I was there when he said that, so I can say that he added that there are producers who were willing to pay that money. Suddenly, why are they complaining?” he told News18.

“Pichle paanch filmon mein toh tumne diya tha utna paisa (You had given that money in the last five movies). Now that they don’t want to shell that much amount, they’re complaining. One has to understand why such a thing is prevalent....Yes, it’s true that not all actors quote a high price. There are only a select few. But they should also become a bit reasonable.”

He added, “Sometimes it’s a trickle-down thing. They see other actors walking with five bodyguards and then they want six for themselves. Yes, we aren’t offered residual income or backend deals. I don’t know why everyone shies away from talking about it. Maybe because they’ve to open their books and show transparency in their accounts. But there are other ways to make money too. A few years back, producers must have thought that paying that money will be worth it. Maybe it’s not worth it anymore. Maybe they don’t have that spare ₹2 lakh to splurge on a chef."

On the work front, Gulshan is gearing up for his upcoming spy-thriller, Ulajh, starring Janhvi Kapoor and Roshan Mathew.