Aamir Khan Slams Today’s Bollywood Stars For Costly Demands, Calls Them ‘Shameful’: ‘There Was A System…’

The cost of keeping actors comfortable on sets is rising, with things like multiple vanity vans and live kitchens. Aamir Khan criticized this culture, calling it shameful and unfair to producers. In a talk with Komal Nahta on his YouTube channel Game Changers, Khan recalled his early days in the industry. He questioned why producers must pay for things that have nothing to do with making the movie.

“Stars should get recognition, but not to a point where they start to trouble the producers,” Khan said. “There was a system that the producer will pay for the star’s driver and his help on set. I found this practice very strange. I thought, ‘The driver and the help is working for me, why is the producer paying for it?’ If the producer is paying my personal staff, does that mean he will also start paying for my kids’ school fees? Where will this stop?”

He said producers should only pay for costs directly related to the film. “This includes makeup, hair, costume. But paying for my personal driver or help, how are they contributing to the film? They are working for me. It is my responsibility to pay them, especially when I am earning well.”

Khan added that the issue has gotten worse. “I hear that stars of today also don’t care to pay their drivers. They ask their producers to pay them. Not just that, but the producer is also paying for the actor’s spot boy. They don’t stop here. They make the producer pay for their trainers, cooks. I have heard that now they keep live-kitchen on set and expect the producer to pay for it. They even demand multiple vanity vans for kitchens and gyms.”

He said he does not mind stars wanting comforts, but making producers pay for them hurts the industry. “These stars are earning in crores and yet not capable of paying for their needs? I find this extremely strange. It is very sad and harmful for the industry. I am saying it strongly that it’s a shame that even today there are actors who are being very unfair to their producers and their films.”

Khan said that training for a role is an exception that producers should cover. He used Dangal as an example, where producers paid for wrestling coaches for the actors. But for other personal costs, they should not add to the film’s budget. “Soon, these actors will expect the producer to pay for their new flat. This sounds extremely odd.”

For his own work, Khan said he follows a simple rule. “Even today, when I take my family for an outdoor shoot. I always pay from my pocket. I never have expected any of my producers to bear that extra cost. Stars today are taking disadvantage of their status. Their demands only project them in the wrong light.”
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