Amid producers complaining of actors’ rising entourage costs, ‘Subedaar’ maker Vikram Malhotra says artistes should be part of the film’s expenses, risks, and benefits
‘Subedaar’, ‘Maa Behen’ and ‘Family Business’ are his upcoming productions. Pics/Youtube, Instagram
Walking into 2026, Vikram Malhotra knew it would be a busy year. The producer is days away from the release of his Anil Kapoor-starrer Subedaar, followed by Madhuri Dixit-Nene and Triptii Dimri’s comedy Maa Behen, and the Kapoor and Vijay Varma-led series Family Business. Putting together projects headlined by stars can be a fulfilling as well as demanding experience. The latter, especially now, when the rising entourage costs of many A-list actors have become a cause for concern for producers.
Vikram Malhotra recently backed ‘Daldal’, led by Bhumi Pednekar
When asked whether actors should pay their entourage from their pockets, Malhotra was clear about his stance. “Actors should participate directly or indirectly in a film’s economic benefit and risk. The participation includes everything — from fees, entourage, working hours to the emotional commitment towards a film. To me, demand for a large entourage or disproportionate fee is a message of intent,” he shared.
Vikram Malhotra
Many producers have claimed that stars nowadays make unreasonable demands. But Malhotra believes a maker always has the choice to not work with such artistes. “No actor puts a gun to the producer’s head, forcing them to cast them. I’ve had the good fortune of working with newcomers to superstars, and we’ve had only the best, most reasonable people partners. If a part of the value chain is unreasonable in commercial or non-commercial terms, it’s a choice you exercise [to not work with them]. In my experience, talents that persist with unreasonable demands and behaviour don’t last long. Most of the time, these examples [of producers being burdened by high costs] are self-inflicted. The producers could say no, they didn’t.”
March 15
When ‘Subedaar’ drops on Prime Video
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
