Mumbai: Rajkummar Rao and Patralekhaa, whose debut production venture ‘Toaster’ was recently released on Netflix, called out “kanjoos” (miserly) producers in the film industry, highlighting the issue of inadequate food being provided on sets.
Recalling their experiences, the actors pointed out how even basic amenities like proper meals are sometimes compromised, sparking a broader conversation around working conditions in the industry.
‘Toaster’, a comedy film, follows a stingy middle-class man whose obsession with frugality turns a simple gifted appliance into chaos, crime and existential turmoil. The film also stars Sanya Malhotra, Archana Puran Singh and Abhishek Banerjee in key roles.
In an interview with News18, ‘Toaster’ actors emphasised how Rajkummar and Patralekhaa’s banner Kampa Films is setting a positive example by pushing back against such practices and fostering a more empathetic work environment.
Sharing her experience, Archana recalled working with a major production house known among crew members as “Ek boti, do roti.”
She explained that food portions, especially non-vegetarian items, were strictly limited, with crew members often told to restrict their intake.
“We’ve experienced this a lot. There was a very big production house, which I don’t want to name. We used to call them, ‘Ek boti, do roti.’ If you ask a crew member about them, they would say, ‘Achcha, yeh toh ek boti, do roti waale hai.’ At the lunch table, the non-vegetarian food served would be very limited. Crew members would be told to only have a certain number of rotis and one serving of the non-vegetarian item,” she said.
Sanya shared that she has worked on projects where even lunch breaks were skipped, not just to cut costs but also to save time.
“Some production houses don’t even give us lunch breaks. Not just actors but crew members also bear the brunt of it. But none of that happened on the sets of Toaster. Both Patra and Raj are really good. It’s a plus when a producer is also an actor,” she said.
Questioning such producers, Rajkummar quipped, “I wonder why lunch breaks are not given. If the shoot begins at 12:30 pm, they expect us to keep at it till maybe 3:30 pm. They can instead let everyone have their lunches and start the shoot at 1:30 pm. They should think about crew members as well. In fact, as actors, our assistants can come in and give us our lunch, but what about the crew? I really don’t get it.”
Reacting to his remarks, Archana said such instances reveal the realities of working conditions on film sets, pointing to an underlying culture of casual, hierarchy-based discrimination.
“They want to pack in as much work as possible. We would’ve 9-6 and 2-10 shifts. These days, shifts span over 12 hours,” she said.
“Even then, they expect us to extend our work hours by 13-14 hours and skip lunch breaks. This is a kind of kanjoosi only. Kanjoosi is a mentality. Phir aap har cheez mein kanjoosi karte ho. How can you not let the light men, who hold their equipment and stand under the sun for hours, eat? They don’t have assistants bringing them fruits jaise humko milta hai. It’s terrible!” she added.
Calling out producers for not ‘providing dignity’ to their workers, Abhishek said, “Chhoti chhoti cheezon mein na, samajh mein aa jaata hai kanjoosi. Their idea is, isko kyun khilaaye? To save very little money, you’re depriving people. You understand these things when you work with a friend’s production house.”
