(Top)Amisha: She washes her hands with a special cleanser immediately after shaking hands with others Rekha: Gulzar replaced her with Sharmila Tagore in Namkeen

‘It was Raj Kapoor’s tantrums and over-interference which caused Shailendraji’s death. He and Basuda were unable to cope with his unreasonable demands,” reveals a source very close to the unit of the 1966 film, Teesri Kasam, produced by late lyricist Shailendra and directed by late Basu Bhattacharya. Notable here is the fact that Shailendra and Raj Kapoor were very close friends. Yet, he was a star and found nothing wrong in throwing his weight around during the making of the film.

The film bombed at the box-office resulting in the heart attack and death of Shailendra. And that, too, tragically on Raj Kapoor’s birthday. After this bitter experience, even Basu Bhattacharya took a kasam never to work with any “so-called stars” in his life and stood by his words till 1997 when he too died.

The history of the Indian film industry is full of such examples where everyone had to suffer because the lead actor wasn’t happy because of reason X, Y, or Z. “Arrey saab, in actoron ko kaam to kuchh hai nahin,” says an old time make-up man, “and all they know is how to harass small people like us. They are big and they have to show their ‘bigness’ some way.” When we tried finding out if this was true, to our shock, almost everyone, barring a handful, right from the top producers to directors to the technicians, denied having faced any star tantrums in their career. “Phew! Give me a pass,” is what the dial-a-quote Mahesh Bhatt had to say when asked about his views on this subject. Similar was the reaction of E. Niwas who flatly denied having faced any kind of tantrums on his sets ever. Producer-director Rajiv Rai of Tridev fame even goes a step further, saying, “Something called tantrum must have been there during the black-and-white films, not after that.” Rai could well be asked if he was still living in that Black-and-White era or has he forgotten the days when the leading ladies (Kajol and Manisha Koirala) of Gupt had given him a real tough time! Veteran artiste Kirron Kher also felt the same way. “I have never seen anyone throwing tantrums on the set. It must be happening in television, not in films.”

Manisha: Along with Kajol, gave Rajiv Rai a tough time during Gupt

Obviously, no one wants to spoil their relationship with others, in an industry where egoes are more fragile than wine glasses. This is called playing the perfect diplomacy game. “I am the last person to play the diplomacy game,” reacts artiste-producer-director Pooja Bhatt still declining to take any names. “There are many such incidents to state. But they are too irrelevant to bring up.” Whether people agree or deny, the fact remains that a good amount of drama goes on behind the camera during the making of a film. It starts with the artiste (read: star) coming late on the sets. “There have been times when I have waited for more than 12 hours on the sets just because the hero/heroine hasn’t arrived. It’s very common in Bollywood,” comments comedian Johny Lever.

Then starts the list of other complaints which usually consists of ? bad makeup, bad costumes, not-so-good food, non-functioning AC in the makeup room and so on. Still, till the time these tantrums are limited to such small production issues, it’s okay. The major problem arises when artistes start interfering in the director’s work, too. Though most of the directors (smalltime directors) can’t help but listen to them because they can’t afford to lose out on the star value for their films, there have been cases when directors have taken a tough stand and have removed the troublemakers from their films. The biggest example of such a booting is today’s superstar, Saif Ali Khan, whom director Rahul Rawail could not tolerate while making Bekhudi, the artiste’s debut film. Tired of the tantrums from the Sahibzaada, the director got him replaced with Kamal Sadanah. Similar was the case with Kareena Kapoor, who was thrown out of Kaho Na...Pyaar Hai and was replaced by Amisha Patel, and Tannisha who was replaced by Pooja Kanwal in Rajshri’s Uff Kya Jaadoo Mohabbat Hai..! In earlier days also, director Gulzar had replaced Rekha with Sharmila Tagore in Namkeen just because she was getting intolerable (although a close friend, too).

Mallika: Won’t drink a drop unless it’s Evian

“If you analyse the track record of artistes who have created problem for others, one very interesting fact that comes to light is that mostly it’s either newcomers or the ageing actors,” analyses Dr Sachchidanand, a prominent doctor who has been doing research on celebrity behaviour for long. The reason for the same he says is, immaturity and the lack of experience in the first case, and frustration in the latter. New artistes tend to overestimate themselves while the seniors suffer from insecurity.

The track record seems to ring true, and loud and clear. We have seen newcomers like Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Twinkle Khanna throwing loads of attitude around in their initial days. At the same time, we have also witnessed insane behaviour by the ageing stars like Rajesh Khanna and Manisha Koirala, who just refuse to accept the fact that they are in fade-out mode.

But there is another angle to this problem as pointed out by Johny Lever. “Many times stars are not unreasonable in what they do. They are promised payments and are not paid; they are told lies about their roles, and so on. What is not right on their part is the fact that they just react instantly without thinking. Earlier, I also used to get angry at the slightest provocation, but with time I have understood that it’s not right.”

But most stars don’t think the way Johny does. Forget about being provoked, today’s stars think it’s their birthright to bring the entire unit on their knees. Or else how will they feel important and puffed up? Recently at a TV shoot nice boy Viveik Oberoi created major problems for the poor serial producer. He was supposed to make a special appearance for the Indian Idol 2 on Sony TV. Just before the shoot was to start, Viveik put up a strange demand of having Subway sandwiches and milkshake without which he refused to move an inch. Even after he came to the set, he was busy chatting up another artiste in the makeup van for two hours beyond calltime. And this is just one of the examples. The list is endless.

Kareena: Got thrown out of Kaho Na...Pyaar Hai for acting pricey

Salman Khan set off the fire alarms twice at London’s Brittania Hotel because he hated the place. He also asked the airport authorities to address a particular star and his star girlfriend with some colourful words in Hindi, when their troupe was returning back from a show.

In similar fashion, Mallika (perhaps she takes her name too seriously) Sherawat drove a London Hotel staff crazy because she insisted on only uncut fresh fruit and brown bread. and how dare the hotel be so careless about Mallika’s demands. Well, maybe they weren’t among those few people who saw her international flick. The Rohtak girl doesn’t drink a drop unless she is served with Evian mineral water.

Early last month Mallika was to host the Zee Cine Awards along with Karan Johar in Mauritius and she made the organisers beg on their knees by refusing to fly in the then-available economy class. She could not take her scheduled flight and the next day all flights were full. When the organiser somehow convinced Shah Rukh Khan to accommodate her on his chartered plane, the imperious Mallika waved it away. She wanted her entire entourage including her bodyguards, manicurist, pedicurists and relatives to accompany her. So much so that she left the organisers in a lurch and gave the show a miss.

Amisha Patel not only makes her dislike very obvious to people by making sure that she washes her hands with a special cleanser immediately after shaking hands with others.

Saif Ali: Got replaced by Kamal Sadanah in Bekhudi for his tantrums

A producer, on condition of anonymity, revealed that several times the star moms order the producer to even buy sanitary napkins for their star daughters, or else the stars won’t perform. He puts it humbly though saying that these are certain odds that producers accept as an occupational hazard. But not all the producers agree to this. Pooja Bhatt says, “I am an artiste before I am a filmmaker. So no artiste can fool me. I know exactly what trick is being played and exactly how to reverse it before it’s played out. If matters still come to a boil, I confront them head-on. No one is bigger than the film and I make that very clear to everyone who works with me, including myself.” (Sampurn)