Suggested Topics :
Dharma Cornerstone Agency Heads Say Controlling Entourage Costs in Producers' Hands: 'They're Not United'
For a big film, the average cost of a star's entourage can amount to ₹20 lakh per day, considerably shooting up its budget and burdening the project.
The menace of the rising entourage costs—which has remained one of the dominating talking points within the Hindi film industry—can be put to an end if producers unite and put a "cap" to it, says Rajeev Masand, COO, Dharma Cornerstone Agency (DCA), the talent management agency which manages over 40 actors, including Ananya Panday, Janhvi Kapoor, Ibrahim Ali Khan and Shanaya Kapoor.
But the curbing of entourage costs will remain a distant dream, Masand says, because producers are well-intentioned but rarely united.
Producers working in the Hindi film industry have often complained about the cost of managing an actor's entourage, which includes their man Friday, personal security, stylist, hair and make-up artists, and photographers. For a big film, the average cost of a star's entourage can amount to ₹20 lakh per day, considerably shooting up its budget and burdening the project.
Many producers have blamed talent management agencies for encouraging entourage costs (claiming that the agencies often force makers to opt for a "package deal" while signing a star, which includes paying for their high-maintenance entourage).
During the latest episode of THR Buzz, Masand, along with Uday Singh Gauri, CEO, Dharma Cornerstone Agency, were asked if it was fair to criticise talent management agencies for skyrocketing entourage costs.
"I think it reveals a chink in the system. I was in a meeting with the Producers Guild of India, which raised this issue, and said it was going out of hand. They called for a meeting of all the agency heads, and it's funny how every one of us said the same thing to the producers: 'It's in your hands, unite and tell (the entourage) that we will not pay; tell them that we will cap costs,'" Masand said.
"But they were not able to do it because there is no unity among the producers. Until they achieve that, they are not going to be able to take a stand," he added.
The DCA COO agreed that the costs have spiralled "sometimes irrationally" and said that if hair and makeup were getting paid more than the editor and the writer of a film, then "that's a problem."
"Sure, actors need to take a stand, but the ball is in the court of the producers. They need to unite and say, 'We are not going to encourage this.' Having said that, if the best DoPs get paid crores of rupees, there is no reason why the best makeup person can't. There is also this tendency in us to disregard HMU as, 'Oh, this is just hair and makeup.' That's also unfair. But yes, if editors and DOPs are being paid less than hair and makeup, there is some introspection that is required," Masand added.
Backing Masand's statement, Gauri said the Producers Guild of India needs to "unite first" and inform the agencies the "ideal cost cap", which doesn't affect the budget of the film.
"That way, our job becomes easier. Because then it can't be pinned on an actor or an agency. We need to fix this in the system first. But yes, if there is a very high cost attached to an entourage, then it is something that needs to be corrected," Gauri added.
According to industry insiders, while there is no fixed per-day rate, the entourage cost depends on production as well as the budget of the film. On average, a star’s spot boy could charge anywhere between ₹20,000 and ₹25,000; premium personal security would be about ₹15,000; a stylist could charge between ₹75,000 and over ₹1 lakh.
The overhead cost of a star on a set extends to even the demand for multiple vanity vans, with one unit costing ₹50,000 per day. This excludes the cost of a personal chef in food trucks, generators, and the vanity van driver. For a big film, if all these demands are met by the producer, the average cost to have a star on set will amount to ₹20 lakh per day.