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Bollywood makeup artist Shaan Mutthathil, who has worked with actors such as Jacqueline Fernandez and Shraddha Kapoor in a career spanning 20 years, spoke about filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s recent comments about rising entourage costs in the film industry. The filmmaker called out makeup artists and personal chefs for charging more money than some of the people who actually work on the film, such as assistant directors and cameramen. “I get paid very well, especially for a college dropout, a dumb person… Compared to a doctor or a pilot, I make so much more. It’s a lot,” he said.
In an interview on the Phitte Muh with Sik and Jas YouTube channel, Shaan addressed Anurag’s complaints, and said that he wouldn’t know the value of good makeup because he exists in his ‘bubble’ and his movies don’t require actors to look glamorous. “Will this Anurag sir, after so many hits, go and do a movie for what a newcomer director will do? No. Of course, there’s a lot of jealousy, and I completely understand. Because we do get paid more than managers, than first ADs, and people in the camera department,” he said.
Shaan continued, “But not everybody gets paid Rs 1 lakh or Rs 2 lakh. There are only around 10 of us… It’s almost like me going and saying to Anurag sir that for your film, I want Rs 1.5 lakh. I wouldn’t get a call from him, first of all. In his films, he will have to call me to get the dark circles and to make the hair look frizzy. That’s what his heroines look like. Of course he can lose his s**t when he hears Rs 1.5 lakh for makeup and hair when his heroines don’t need makeup and hair. He’s not doing a movie where there is a chiffon saree and blow-dried hair… I have never got a call from him, because I understand his films don’t need makeup and hair. His films are in some village with a heroine in a cotton saree of Rs 250 who wakes up and cries. His films don’t need the girl to run in slow motion and say something to the boy where her lips are in closeup. It’s a different world.”
Shaan highlighted the difference between how Anurag addressed the issue of rising entourage costs, and how Karan Johar addressed it. “He was very clear. He said that the heroines are charging more, and that the actors have to reduce their price. Because he knows the importance of makeup and hair. Why does he call Mickey Contractor? Why does he call a Manish Malhotra and not a C-grade stylist? He’s making a commercial film with that budget. He’s not crying about Mickey Contractor, who charges a really good amount. A choreographer also charges Rs 1 crore per song. Do you pay everybody Rs 1 crore per song?”
Shaan said that he has worked for two decades and has gained a reputation in the industry for his skills, and that there is no reason for him to reduce his fee because the production can’t afford him. “I do films where the director wants me. For example, Mohit Suri pays me what I want for Aashiqui, for Half Girlfriend, for Malang. His films are glossier. What Anurag sir is saying is his world, his bubble. He was also calling out the agencies.”
In an interview with Janice Sequeira recently, Anurag spoke about the extraneous costs associated with stars these days. “Somebody has a chef who charges Rs 2 lakh per day to make this strange healthy food. Jo dekh ke lagta tha ye khana hai? Yeh to bird feed hai (I wonder, ‘Is this food or birdfeed’)?” Indicating with his hands how small the portions this chef prepares are, he added, “Itna chhota sa aata tha (The portion size is too small).” To Humans of Cinema, he said, “A lot of money that is spent doesn’t go into making the film. 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 recent months, the Indian Express has extensively covered the culture of escalating entourage costs in the film industry. Others such as Farah Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Nawazuddin Siddiqui have also weighed in on the topic.
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