Actor Govind Namdev recalled how a simple lunch decision on the film Oh My God! briefly challenged Bollywood’s star culture. On that set, Akshay Kumar and director Umesh Shukla ordered one common menu for everyone, from lead actors to spot boys, cutting through the usual hierarchy.
Sharing the memory, Namdev said, “There are people who have fresh perspective towards this… 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 but there would be no VIP menu. The environment was something else at that time,” Namdev recalled how that choice changed the atmosphere on set, as people shared the same food and space.
Akshay Kumar, Govind Namdev and Bollywood star system on film sets
Namdev contrasted that experience with what the actor usually sees in the Hindi film industry. For years, according to Namdev, sets clearly reflected rank. Vanity vans, food quality and general treatment varied sharply. The senior actor suggested that this pattern was not written down anywhere, yet everyone understood it.
Speaking to The Lallantop, Namdev explained, “No, this is not how the industry functions. There is a major system of big and small stars… people function as per their status – in terms of salaries and treatment in the film industry. If someone gets paid more, that person will get a huge vanity van. Difference in food also exists on film sets. The stars have different foods, and others eat different food items.”
Namdev said this unwritten star system appeared in salaries as well as facilities. Pay cheques set the tone. Those earning more often received bigger spaces, better services and special meals, while character actors and crew adjusted to whatever remained. For Namdev, this separation had become routine over decades.
That is why the Oh My God! set stayed with Namdev. Akshay Kumar’s choice removed the distance between stars, supporting actors, technicians and workers. Everyone queued for the same dishes. The hierarchy did not disappear from the wider industry, but for that shoot, the unit felt more equal and shared one working space.