4 min readChennaiMar 17, 2026 06:23 PM ISTNana Patekar complains about stars being unaccessible .Many have spoken about the high entourage costs of stars in the Hindi film industry and how this puts pressure on producers and filmmakers, often leaving projects suffering due to the unreasonable demands of actors. In a recent interaction, Prakash Jha and Nana Patekar spoke about the same.In an interaction with Bollywood Hungama, Prakash, who is known for making politically relevant films like Jai Gangaajal, Satyagraha and Raajneeti, was asked why he has avoided releasing his projects in theatres and has turned to OTT platforms in recent years. One of the reasons that emerged during the interaction was that any project releasing in theatres needs strong star power behind it. However, with time, stars are becoming more and more inaccessible.Nana Patekar, who is seen in Jha’s latest project Sankalp, jumped in and spoke on the issue. He complained about stars being inaccessible these days because of the multiple layers of management. He said, “This is because earlier you could talk to a star directly, but now it is not possible. Today we have to go through multiple people to meet the star. To meet the star, you first have to meet 100 people. You have to give the star the script and then he/she will direct you whether you should make this film or not. Releasing it on OTT is easy compared to this.”Nana also spoke about how there is no real bond between actors and directors in this generation. “Often, I ask Prakash if this actor called him, but then he tells me that the relationship between the actor and him is only limited to the film. Prakash tells me that only I and Amitabh Bachchan call him.”ALSO READ: ‘I can’t dance in front of your dad’: Mona Singh reveals ‘tricky’ shoot of Aryan Khan’s debut, Shah Rukh Khan’s special promise Prakash explained how these multiple layers of management are one of the reasons behind the increased entourage costs of actors. He said, “All these layers who have been employed—the corporate, the management company, the creative company, managers—all these get a salary and which is why they have to show some work.”Prakash argued that a part of this ultimately comes from the producer’s pocket. He shared an example and said, “There is an actor these days who is accompanied by 27–28 people, a new actor in the industry, whose one film has worked, aspires to have this kind of a big entourage.”Story continues below this adThen the interviewer spoke about actors using AI to select scripts. He shared how an actor put a script he had received into ChatGPT and asked the AI platform to give him 10 reasons to do and not do the film. Responding to the same, Nana said, “Toh kyu tere kaan ke neeche do na lagao main puch AI se? (Ask AI why should I not give you a slap).”Star entourages and spiralling costs have become a big issue in the Hindi film industry and SCREEN has extensively reported on this. It is common to see actors with massive entourages whose cost is paid by producers. Director Sanjay Gupta had earlier told Cyrus Broacha: “All the old-school guys, including Mr Bachchan, and Ajay Devgn and Hrithik Roshan, they only have one makeup guy and one spot boy. Producers complain about entourage costs, and rightfully so, and suddenly you’re paying lakhs.” Farah Khan had also spoken about one actor using multiple vanity vans in a conversation with Rakesh Roshan. “Now, people travel with at least 200 people. It looks like a fair. They walk like elephants. An actor’s entourage alone consists of at least 20 people,” she said.Click here to follow Screen Digital on YouTube and stay updated with the latest from the world of cinema.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdTags:Nana Patekar