India's Bollywood counts costs as star fees squeeze profits

Mumbai, India: From fleets of private trailers to personal chefs and sprawling entourages, Bollywood stars obnoxious demands are driving up product...

Mumbai, India: From fleets of private trailers to personal chefs and sprawling entourages, Bollywood stars' "obnoxious" demands are driving up production costs and putting a strain on the Indian film industry's finances, insiders say.

Bollywood has long been unpredictable at the box office and the pandemic compounded problems, but producers argue that today's losses stem less from creative failure and more from top artists' runaway expenses.

"It is not so much about production cost -- it is more about star fees," says producer Ramesh Taurani, best known for the successful Race action franchise.

Actors, filmmakers say, increasingly arrive on set with a dozen-strong entourage -- including makeup artists, hairdressers, stylists, gym trainers and assistants -- all billed to production.

Stars are paid hefty fees of up to $22.18 million per film but additional requests for first-class travel, five-star hotels, multiple private trailers and work-shy hours have become routine.