Aamir Khan slams Bollywood stars for high fees, lavish demands like asking producers to pay for personal luxuries

Dubai: Bollywood actor-producer Aamir Khan has called out the industry’s growing culture of excess, criticising stars who charge sky-high fees while expecting producers to bankroll their personal luxuries.

Speaking on Komal Nahta’s YouTube show Game Changers, Khan said it was “a shame” that some actors make filmmakers cover costs for everything from drivers and cooks to gym vans, even as the Hindi film industry struggles with box office setbacks.

“The dominance of stars is fine to a certain extent — audiences love them,” Aamir Khan said.

“But the producer should only spend what the film requires. Pay the make-up person, hairdresser, costume designer — that’s all part of the film. But why would the producer pay for my boy or my driver? They work for me.”

The superstar said he was stunned to hear about present-day demands. “Producers now pay an actor’s driver’s monthly salary, the boy who brings tea and coffee, even personal cooks. Some stars bring a cooking van and a gym van on set — and the producer pays for that too. When a star earns in crores, can’t he pay his own staff? Every star should ensure the film is not burdened. That is what being a team player means.”

Aamir Khan drew a sharp line between production-related costs and indulgent personal expenses. “When I did a film on wrestling, the producer covered the training — because that was part of the film. But making them pay for your cook? That makes no sense. If you have that kind of money, spend it yourself. Nobody will object. But don’t make the producer pay for it.”

Khan also revealed how he manages his family during outdoor shoots. “Even when I take my family along, not once have I made the producer cover those expenses. I put in the extra money myself. Today, stars are taking advantage of being stars. It’s odd. It’s a shame that actors are still being unfair to their producers and films.”

With his candid remarks, Aamir Khan has sparked a debate about Bollywood’s star system — and whether the industry can afford such excesses when audiences are demanding better content and tighter budgets.

In a separate interview with Gulf News in Dubai, Aamir Khan showed a very different side of himself — one deeply personal and rooted in empathy. As a mother of twins, one of whom has been recently diagnosed with dysgraphia, I found our exchange about inclusion especially poignant. For Khan, his new film Sitaare Zameen Par, where he plays a basketball coach to neurodivergent children, is not just a project but a mission.

“Inclusion is what I really believe in,” he told me. “I look forward to the day when India becomes 100% inclusive.”

Khan is no stranger to this conversation. His 2007 classic Taare Zameen Par offered Bollywood’s first mainstream look at dyslexia, but he says Sitaare flips the script. “In Taare, it was the teacher helping a child with a learning disability. In Sitaare Zameen Par, it is 10 people who are neuro-atypical — and they are helping the coach.”

While the new film isn’t a sequel, it carries the same emotional DNA. “The theme is similar. It takes the discussion further,” he explained. This time, humour rather than heavy emotion is the vehicle. “It’s a film that says something extremely important, but it makes us laugh,” he smiled.

Khan admitted that after Laal Singh Chaddha underwhelmed at the box office, many advised him to chase a big action film. But his instincts told him otherwise. “This script just entered my bloodstream. Once that happens, that’s all I can do. I can’t do anything else. I’m not a practical person,” he said.

That philosophy is consistent with his career — he has long leaned on gut and passion rather than formula. His influences, he says, come not from flamboyant mentors but from his mother. “She’s probably the biggest influence I’ve had. She’s extremely caring, empathetic, sensitive to people’s needs. These are the things I picked up from her,” he said.

Failures, too, are part of his process. “Your failures are your biggest teachers. While it is disappointing, I analyse why I went wrong. Where I’ve reached today is not just because of my successes, but mainly because of my failures. They’ve really taught me and made me what I am today.”

In an age where AI is infiltrating every corner of creative work, Khan calls himself “an analogue person.” He admitted candidly: “I can’t use AI because I don’t know how to. I want to stay that way — because that’s what I am.”

And perhaps that’s the through-line with Aamir Khan: an actor unafraid to speak his truth, whether he’s calling out Bollywood’s excesses or championing inclusion on screen. As our conversation ended, I mentioned I would be taking my twins to watch Sitaare Zameen Par. He smiled and said simply: “How lovely. Yes, it’s okay to be different.”

Coming from a man who continues to shape Bollywood with heart and conviction, it sounded less like a throwaway line and more like a mission statement.