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Renuka Shahane On Bollywood's ‘Entourage Obsession': 'It's A Matter Of Comfort'

Renuka Shahane On Bollywood's ‘Entourage Obsession': 'It's A Matter Of Comfort'

News1802-07-2025
Last Updated:
Renuka Shahane talks about the film industry's shift from the 1990s to today, noting higher costs and larger entourages. Her third film, Loop Line, screened at the 2025 NYIFF.
Veteran actress and filmmaker Renuka Shahane has opened up about the stark difference in how the film industry operates today compared to the 1990s.
Reflecting on the rising cost of actors and the large teams that accompany them, the 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!' actress pointed out how stars in the 90s managed their careers without elaborate entourages. She believes the culture has shifted significantly, with today's actors relying on multiple managers, stylists, and social media teams—adding to the overall production cost.
Renuka told IANS, 'I think the culture has changed because there are so many mediums and media today to kind of explore yourself as an actor. So, if you are a huge star, for instance, then there are people who are managing your social media. There are people who are separately managing your social media ads, separately managing your proper TVC ads. Then there are others who are managing your costumes and, you know, that kind of collaboration."
'And that's why, you know, there's a division of labor. Therefore, there are that many people. And those many people can only exist if it's commercially viable for the people paying."
Renuka went on to explain, 'So, it's not as if one fine day the star gets up and says, Oh, I need ten people instead of one. If there are ten people with the star and if the producer has, you know, feels that it is important that the star feels comfortable and I'm willing to pay that much for the star's entourage, then they'll invest in it or they'll compromise and say that, Listen, we can only handle five people on the set, not more than five. So, I think that, you know, it's not something that someone is doing it forcefully."
'If you can afford it, then they are doing it. Those who can't afford it—if you can't afford it, the star might put their foot down and say, Listen, I'd rather not do your project because I need my staff with me. Or they'll say, Okay, I'll compromise for this project, or I'll do it."
'You know, so I think that one should judge people that, oh, such a big entourage used to manage before. There weren't so many avenues that used the star, you know, in terms of the commercial prospects. So, I feel that one should also be more kind. You know, we generally judge that they have a lot. So, we are quick to judge. But I think that it's a matter of comfort," the actress further mentioned.
Work-wise, Renuka Shahane's third directorial venture, a Marathi animated short titled 'Loop Line," was screened at the 2025 New York Indian Film Festival on June 21. The film explored the emotional neglect and silent battles faced by Indian housewives trapped in traditional, patriarchal households.
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Renuka Shahane REACTS to Anushka Sharma's Chakda Xpress allegedly being shelved: 'I am totally heartbroken... She's really done such a good job'
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‘Sense of fear I see everywhere…': Marathi playwright Satish Alekar
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Indian Express

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I had lost my admission to a medical college because, during that time, I was campaigning for the Congress party. My maternal uncle V N Gadgil was given a Lok Sabha ticket for Pune and was defeated by Samajwadi leader S M Joshi by just 12,000 votes. I didn't realise while campaigning that the examination was just around the corner. I was left out to do a BSc and all my friends went and joined IIT and various medical colleges. During that time, in any middle-class Brahmin family, if you missed admission to either an engineering or a medical college, it was a crime. I was very dejected. At this time, Bhalchandra Vaman Kelkar somehow spotted me and asked me to play a role in a play he was staging. This was 1967. I did the main role and found that theatre worked like therapy for me. I gradually started realising myself from within through theatre. Anuradha Mascarenhas: Which was the very first play you saw and the first one you wrote? 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Satish Alekar: I saw the Emergency in force because we were at BJ Medical College and all the political prisoners were brought to Sassoon Hospital for checking. And that was the only time they used to get to meet their relatives. The doctor and all the people were siding with the political prisoners, not against them. We used to bring the relatives to the prisoners, sometimes the latter gave us tiffin to give to the political prisoners. It so happened that at this time, while I was helping the political prisoners, my maternal uncle was a minister in the Central Government. In fact, my marriage took place during the Emergency and one person who signed at the court as witness was my maternal uncle V N Gadgil and the other was S M Joshi. They knew each other. We stayed in Shaniwar Peth, which had an accommodative point of view. Their atmosphere was the best for the development of a liberal democracy. All our teachers belonged to the RSS but we never went to an RSS party. 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It would become a very volatile situation and they would get arrested. The solution was to have 100 Satyanarayan Mahapujas at the homes of the supporters and distribute the prasad. In Shaniwar Peth, Deccan Gymkhana and other localities of the city, Satyanarayan pujas were conducted in homes. Who will object? If you asked them, 'Are you honouring Gopal Godse?', the answer would be no. A hundred households conducted private pujas. The supporters had planned to bring the prasad to Udyan Mangal Karyalaya in Sadashiv Peth for distribution, an event that would be attended by Godse himself. That story leaked in Kesari the next day. That's how the people came to know that such a thing happened. So, religious divisions have been an entrenched part of Indian society. Today, fundamentalism has come to the forefront as it has received some kind of confidence. I think that the BJP's own reinterpretation of their own party is responsible for these kinds of social divisions. 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Ed Sheeran Picks Arijit Singh As ‘The Best Singer' In The World
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