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In today’s Bollywood, the biggest movie budgets aren’t always spent on action scenes or massive sets. Instead, a surprising chunk of money goes into making stars look “perfect” every single day on set — while the people who actually write the story often earn a fraction of that amount. The rising cost of glamour According to industry insiders, hair and makeup professionals in Bollywood now take home over Rs 1 lakh per day, only for a single actor. And this doesn’t include the rest of the star’s entourage. For outdoor schedules, producers are said to cover first-class travel, luxury stays, and overtime bills — not only for the main stylists but also for their assistants. They need to be available at odd hours, often starting much earlier than the rest of the crew. As a result, one star’s hair and makeup can reach Rs 2 lakh per day. If a film features two leads and supporting cast, the total can rise to Rs 6 lakh every day. With movie shoots now lasting 40-60 days, these glamour costs alone can jump to Rs 2.4-Rs 3.6 crore. Bigger films, especially those shot abroad, can push the hair and makeup budget to Rs 8-10 crore. Writers struggle despite shaping the film In stark contrast, screenwriters receive Rs 4 lakh each for story, screenplay and dialogues — adding up to just Rs 12 lakh per film — even though their work begins months or years before shooting. Many writers also admit they don’t always receive timely payments, and sometimes not all tranches are cleared. Celebrity manager slams ‘entitled’ culture A celebrity manager, speaking anonymously to SCREEN, questioned the heavy reliance on glam squads. He said, “Why don’t you do your skincare routine religiously every day and take care of hair loss instead of relying completely on the HMU department? What’s happened to the idea of self-care?” He added that passing these inflated costs to producers only encourages stars to put in less effort on their own appearance. Even VFX is fixing faces It goes beyond on-set glam. Post-production teams are now roped in to erase wrinkles and slim waistlines. According to a VFX supervisor, the effort is less for younger stars like Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon, but much more for ageing actors like Kajol. They also revealed Rs 1 crore was spent to digitally remove eye bags of a newcomer known to party too much.
