From rationing food to skipping lunch breaks, Bollywood actors Archana Puran Singh, Sanya Malhotra and Abhishek Banerjee reveal shocking truths about stingy producers on sets. They contrast these experiences with the generous environment in Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha’s production of “Toaster,” highlighting the importance of crew well-being and empathy in filmmaking. Read on to know more in detail.
As Rajkummar Rao and Patralekha’s debut production “Toaster” airs on an OTT platform, the film’s cast — Archana Puran Singh, Sanya Malhotra and Abhishek Banerjee — speaks out about a deeply uncomfortable reality on Bollywood film sets: stingy producers who cut corners on the crew’s basic welfare, from skipping lunch breaks to rationing food.In a candid conversation with News18, they compared those experiences to the warmth and generosity they found on “Toaster” sets.
He watches
Sanya Malhotra and Rishabh Rakhiram Sharma break up after a year-long secret love affair
Archana Puran Singh Concerning food rationing on film sets
Archana Puran Singh was the first to recall working with a notoriously tight-fisted production company, choosing not to give her name but not addressing the conditions inside. “We went through this a lot. There was a very big production house, I don’t want to name it,” she added.“We used to call them ‘Ek boti, do roti’. If you asked a crew member about them, they would say, ‘Achcha, yeh toh ek boti, do roti waale hai’ (We used to call them ‘one piece of meat, two roti’). If you asked any crew member about them, they would say, ‘Oh, they are a ‘one piece of meat, two roti’ kind of people.”“At the lunch table, non-vegetarian food will be strictly limited. Crew members will be asked to eat only a certain number of rotis and one serving of the non-vegetarian variety,” she added.
“They want to consolidate as much work as possible,” she continued. “We’ll have 9-6 and 2-10 shifts. These days, the shifts are 12-hour days.”Archana said, “Even then, they expect us to extend our working hours by 13-14 hours and skip lunch breaks. This is just kind of kanjoosi. Kanjoosi is a mentality. Phir aap har cheez mein kanjoosi karte ho.” She wondered how they could deprive light men of food who stood in the sun for hours carrying equipment, pointing out that they had no helpers to bring them fruit as others did, and she concluded that it was terrible.
Sanya Malhotra talks about Production houses
Sanya Malhotra added that the problem goes beyond food; Some sets do not allow lunch breaks at all, which affects not only the actors but the entire crew. She expressed, “Some production houses don’t even give us a lunch break. Not only the actors but the crew members also bear the brunt. But none of that happens on the sets of Toaster. Both Batra and Raj are really good. It’s an added advantage when the producer is an actor too.”
Rajkummar Rao discusses running his production company
In the same conversation, Rajkummar Rao questioned the logic of skipping lunch breaks altogether, pointing out a simple solution that costs nothing but compassion.
He said, “I wonder why lunch breaks are not given. If the shoot starts at 12:30 pm, they expect us to continue till 3:30 pm. They can instead let everyone have their lunches and start shooting at 1:30 pm. They should think about the crew members as well. In fact, as actors, our assistants can come and serve us our lunch, but what about the crew? I really don’t understand it.”
“
Abhishek Banerjee He talks about production houses not providing basic things
Abhishek Banerjee put it more frankly, criticizing producers who failed to provide basic dignity to their workers.He said, “Chhoti chhoti cheezon mein na, samajh mein aa jaata hai kanjoosi. Their idea is, isko kyun khilaaye? To save very little money, you deprive people. You understand these things when you work with a friend’s production house.”
More about “Toaster”
The film is directed by Vivek Daschoudhary, and stars Rajkummar Rao, Sanya Malhotra, Archana Puran Singh, Upendra Limaye, Farah Khan, Abhishek Banerjee and Jitendra Joshi. The film premiered on April 15, 2026.
