Punjabi actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh’s next Bollywood release Soorma is around the corner and he has completed the shoot of Arjun Patiala too. But there are murmurs in Bollywood that his per day cost expenses are apparently spiraling too high for the producers.

Says a Bollywood insider, “Even senior actors of Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan’s staff are not as expensive as Diljit Dosanjh, even though both are megastars and more popular than Diljit. It speaks a lot of Salman and his down-to-earth attitude that despite his mega-stardom his per day staff expenses are not so high. One has heard that while the cost of Salman’s entourage costs about Rs. 30-40 thousand (approx) per day Diljit’s is more Rs.75000 (approx) per day. Diljit travels with an eight-member team, which includes his secretary, trainer, bouncer, and some of his friends. There is also a separate cost per day for the pagdi bandhne wale (the men who ties turbans) whose cost per day is Rs. 20,000. Even Salman doesn’t travel with such a big entourage when he’s shooting outside Mumbai. He comes from a Bollywood family and understands that such expenses are a burden on the producer.”

The source adds that apparently Diljit’s per day expense tab goes higher when marketing and promotions of his films begin. “The promotional cost per day of Diljit is also quite a bit and can go up almost Rs.1.25-1.50 lakh per day. Buzz is that he demands a luxury suite when he’s out of town. A big star like Akshay Kumar doesn’t charge so much. He is a professional who just takes the fixed cost of his staff from his producer and then distributes that among his staff which is shooting with Akshay is such a breeze for his producers.”

The insider says that in recent times Diljit appears to have developed a bit of an attitude. At his last Punjabi film Rangroot’s trial, for a 6 PM show, he arrived at the venue at 9.15 pm. But by that time almost everybody had left by then.”

However, a filmmaker who attended the same Rangroot trial defends Diljit saying it wasn’t the actor’s fault. “His car broke down and when he came, he apologized to each and every person present at the theatre. I have been to some of his other trials and Diljit has never been late for them. It was his personal trial and he needn’t have apologized. In fact, far from having an attitude, Diljit is one of the coolest, most humble and chilled out actors I know and is a pleasure to shoot with.” 

However, a source close to Diljit says the numbers are not true. “The information is not correct at all. In fact, the maximum per day cost of his expenses that has ever been is Rs.56,000, including channel promotions. You can check with any of the production houses that he has worked with him," he says.

"Diljit travels with only four people: his turban guy (from Kalyan), his makeup guy (from Mumbai), his spot boy, his manager (Sonali) and his security but only if he is in Chandigarh. His turban guy charges Rs.4500 per day and charges Rs.20,000 only when there are channel integration or promotions – a day or two in his entire schedule,” the source added.