Veteran Bollywood actor Govind Namdev has spoken honestly about the long-standing, old and entrenched star system in the industry. In a recent interview, Govind discussed about the inequalities that still exist at film locations such as providing different levels of treatment, vanity vans, and even the types of food provided to the artists.
During a conversation Govind Namdev was asked about whether or not stars seek guidance from him. He dismissed the idea and said that it's not typical for them to do this. He further explained that there are many reasons why stars do not seek out counsel from senior supporting actors, “No, this is not how the industry functions. Stars believe that if they will take advice from another actor, they would be below them in some way. This is the first thought that comes to their mind.”
Govind Namdev discussed the use of hierarchy outside just being part of the creative process. He said a lot of times how you are treated on set depends on your pay and your star status. He further explained, “There is a major system of big and small stars, people function as per hierarchy, in terms of salaries and treatment in the film industry. If someone gets paid more, that person will get a huge vanity van, that’s how it is decided. Food hierarchy also exists on film sets. The stars have different foods, and others eat different food items.”
Later, Govind Namdev also cited Akshay Kumar as being the only person, who managed to treat all cast and crew the same during the filming of Oh My God 2. He praised actor Akshay Kumar and Umesh Shukla (the director) for providing an equal and non-discriminatory atmosphere while they were filming, “There are people who have fresh perspective towards this, they try that everyone should be treated equally. Good people like Akshay Kumar, during the shoot of Oh My God. The actor and the film’s director Umesh Shukla decided together that everyone should eat and drink the same thing. If someone doesn’t eat onion or garlic, then that’s a different case, otherwise everybody should be treated equally. The environment was something else at that time, on the shoot location of OMG.”
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.