The debate around Bollywood’s star system — from the high entourage costs to the multiple layers of management that make celebrities increasingly inaccessible — has been a recurring topic of discussion. Many argue that this distance is also part of an image-building exercise. Actors frequently wear garments designed by top names at public events, providing brands and designers a platform to promote their work. However, in a recent interaction, celebrity designer Sandeep Khosla, one half of the iconic duo Abu Jani –Sandeep Khosla, shared how Bollywood celebrities are becoming more and more difficult to approach.
Speaking on Fashionably Pernia, Sandeep first slammed Indian stylists for promoting foreign brands by making stars wear them more often, rather than giving Indian designers equal, if not greater, visibility. He also opened up about how multiple levels of management make it nearly impossible to reach out to stars. He said, “In India, it’s a nightmare because you have to go through 25 people — the agency, the stylist, the stylist’s stylist, the third generation, the fifth person, the seventh person to get to an Indian celebrity. Till that time you are like bye-bye, thank you very much.”
The interviewer added that the ecosystem actors have created around themselves is overwhelming — they travel with a “village,” and every decision must go through several approvals. Speaking about this culture, Sandeep shared an anecdote about an Indian female actor whose entitled behaviour reportedly intimidates air hostesses.
He shared, “I was in a friend’s private jet, and the air hostess was telling us wonderful anecdotes about Indian film stars. She said there is a particular heroine, when she boards of flight, we are actually petrified because she doesn’t wish us, she doesn’t look us in the eye, and if we ask her for water, she will not even acknowledge our presence and her secretary or the person she is with will say ‘yes, she will have water’ and then we will serve the water to the secretary, and she/he will serve the water to her. We have created these monsters.”
Writer and socialite Shobhaa De had also weighed in on the issue recently. Speaking to Barkha Dutt earlier on Mojo Story, she admitted that actors often summon paparazzi to click their photos at the airport to make sure their “airport looks” go viral. Reflecting on the earlier generation of actors and how they were more approachable than current stars, Shobhaa said, “Actors in those days used to have secretaries. They did not have layers and layers of management managing them.”
She also explained how most celebrity looks today are paid for by designers and brands. “It is not the same now. It is much corporatised and they are following the Hollywood model of image positioning. So the airport look and all of it is… The stylists are on the job and they are approached by big brands. The stars are approached by big brands through clothes. It is all about commerce, it pays off. So, if you’re not getting clicked at the airport, then you are a nobody,” she had said.
