Shah Rukh Khan to Ranveer Singh: Everything to Know About Actors' Vanity Vans in Bollywood
From practical necessity to gilded fortress, vanity vans in Bollywood have become the truest measure of stardom in Indian cinema.
When on a film set, a van is never just a van. The gleaming caravans parked a few metres away from the camera rigs and catering counters are not simply places to nap between takes or slip into a costume. They are portable fortresses: equal parts dressing room, lounge, therapist’s couch, status symbol, and, occasionally, an altar of ego.
“Ranveer Singh requires three vanity vans when he’s on a shoot schedule,” says a source close to the actor. “One is for his personal use, one is a gym van, one is for his private chef,” they add.
The Measure of a Van
The concept of a vanity van has its roots in the practical chaos of the film set. “Back in the day even the biggest actors and actresses would have to change in makeshift places when they were on an outdoor schedule. It was especially daunting for women because they would have to change behind four people holding a sari,” says Ketan Raval.
Raval is India’s leading vanity van vendor, who currently own 70 vans that are in daily use. Shooting a film can mean 12 to 16-hour-days on far-flung locations, often under the punishing sun or in remote villages where bathrooms are a luxury. The caravan became a practical solution: a place to change costumes, fix make-up, and rest between takes. “Poonam Dhillon introduced vanity vans in our film industry. Her vanity van was inaugurated by Amitabh Bachchan — it was a very big deal,” says Raval.
But as the industry grew, and stardom became an industrial product of its own, the vans began to swell in ambition. “It started as a functional thing, now it’s more about the optics of who has what in their van,” says Raval. What was once a rolling changing room transformed into a mobile palace. By 2009, for stars like Shah Rukh Khan, the vanity van became shorthand for status. “Shah Rukh sir’s van is so big that sometimes he can’t take it to those remote locations. I send my van whenever he has to shoot in tight spaces,” says Raval.
Wheel of Fortune
John Abraham’s van, for instance, required a full structural re-engineering. “He wanted floor-to-ceiling windows so he could look out and let natural light flood the space,” recalls Raval. “But he also insists on everything being black — the floor, the walls, the sink, even the toilet. Nothing that isn’t black. So, the only light that enters is framed by an entirely dark box.”
Kangana Ranaut’s vanity van, meanwhile, is among the industry’s most expensive. “She wanted solid sheesham wood interiors. It’s not only difficult to source but also extremely hard to maintain,” says Prateek Malewar, who builds luxury vans with partner Apurva Deshmukh. “Kangana ma’am was personally involved in the design. She’d sit with us to choose fabrics, prints, the works. She didn’t treat it like a van, she treated it like a home,” says Deshmukh.
Sometimes, the demands teeter on the absurd. “One actor asked if we could shift all the switchboards to the floor so they wouldn’t appear in their selfies,” Malewar says. “That’s just not practical. We had to say no, but most times we bend over backwards to accommodate eccentric requests.”
And then there are the sensory quirks. “Parineeti Chopra doesn’t like room fresheners. She’ll only use incense sticks from one particular shop in Juhu,” says Raval. “So, every time her van is sent, there’s a boy whose only job is to fetch those exact sticks and make sure the van is ready before she arrives.”
This idea of the van being “ready” is a recurring theme. “Actors have refused to shoot if their vanity vans weren’t ready,” says a production insider. “The tantrum is part of the optics. If you don’t have oddly specific demands, how will anyone know you’re a star?”
The latest obsession? Gym vans. “Many actors now prefer to have a gym van accompany them on outdoor schedules so they can sneak in a workout during breaks,” says Malewar. “One superstar even asked us to create a secret entry point between his main van and his gym van, so that the media wouldn’t see him stepping out all sweaty post-workout,” says Deshmukh.
It raises the question: is this about comfort or control? Perhaps both. The van doesn’t just protect the star from dust and heat; it insulates them from the faintest whiff of ordinariness.
Devil’s in the Details
The vanity van is also a marker of hierarchy, and it isn’t as simple as who owns the biggest one. “Sunny Deol once asked me to design a van that could expand sideways — from the standard eight feet of width to 11 feet — so that the interiors felt less cramped,” recalls Raval. “He also wanted sunroofs, because he likes natural ventilation.”
Hierarchy is coded into the details. “If you step into a van, just look at the chairs,” says Raval. “Rexine, leather or fabric — that instantly tells you where it sits on the price ladder. Then check the walls: are they linoleum, wallpaper, or painted? Paint is the costliest because it needs multiple coats and far more labour,” he adds.
And then there’s the invisible signifier: adhesive. “A van is constantly on the move, so everything inside has to be either bolted down or glued in place. The quality of that adhesive makes all the difference,” explains Malewar. Deshmukh jumps in: “Cheaper adhesive can’t withstand the heat. After a full day parked under the sun, it starts to release fumes. Imagine walking into your vanity after a 14-hour shoot and being hit with toxic glue smells. That’s why the more expensive vans use high-grade adhesive — it doesn’t fume, and that silence is its own luxury.”
The Politics of Parking
The way vans are parked on a film set can reveal more about hierarchy than a film’s opening credits. “A superstar won’t allow their van to be parked next to another star’s,” one production manager says. “Because parking side by side suggests equality. And in this business, there is no such thing as equality.”
The positioning is often a delicate negotiation. Whose van gets the closest spot to the set? Whose has shade? More than once, entire shoots have been delayed because a star was unhappy with their van’s placement.
For junior actors and background performers, the absence of a van is not just inconvenient; it is humiliating. Many change under tarpaulin tents, crouching behind makeshift curtains while the stars sip cold brew in leather recliners. For them, the van is both aspiration and reminder. A symbol of what they don’t yet have, and perhaps never will.
“Things are changing. Big production houses make sure that there’s at least one common van for all the junior artists. But it’s usually a two-door van with the bare minimum,” says Raval.
On the one hand, a vanity van is a practical refuge in an industry that grinds bodies and psyches into exhaustion. On the other, it is a gilded bubble that isolates stars from the very crews who build their films. In a way, the van is the truest metaphor for stardom. Outwardly glamorous, inwardly insulated.
The measure of a star, then, is not just limited to their fan following, but the size, design, and specificity of their van. An actor’s three-van convoy might signal an attempt to manage the optics of their stardom; box office be damned. An expanding vanity that stretches sideways to claim more space can be less a vehicle and more an announcement of a second coming. The van becomes both prediction and proclamation.
Because in this industry, the van makes the vanity. And sometimes, the vanity makes the star.
The Cost of Vanity
Annual maintenance runs into ₹10 lakh-₹15 lakh, covering generator fuel, cleaning staff, air-conditioning upkeep, and interior refurbishments.
Basic model: ₹15 lakh-₹20 lakh (just a dressing space with an air conditioner).
Mid-range: ₹35 lakh-₹50 lakh (sofas, small pantry, TV, modest washroom).
High-end custom van: ₹75 lakh-₹1.5 crore (Italian marble, luxury recliners, gym equipment).
Top-tier “super vans”: ₹2 crore-₹3 crore (multi-room set-ups with expanding living space).
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