The lives of people who meet stars on film sets are not easy. We call them spotboys. Their job is to take care of the actors’ facilities.
From managing the actors, directors, crew members to their food and drinks on the set, the spotboy takes full responsibility. It’s also called Spot Dada. However, the situation is such that people say you can become anything, but never become a spotboy.
These people work on sets for 20 hours each, but there is no guarantee as to when they will receive their fees. Even producers and directors abuse it. Sometimes they even kill. For fear of not finding work, these people silently tolerate exploitation and work.
In this episode of Reel to Real, we spoke to Spotboy Santosh, Rakesh Dubey and Suresh Shyamlal Gupta, president of Cine Workers Association, to know the status of Spotboy.
This episode is divided into two chapters. In the first chapter, there is information about Spotboy, from getting the job to his salary, while in the second chapter, it will be talked about Spotboy’s connections with celebrities.
Chapter-1
Spotboys work 20 to 20 hours. In the 80s and 90s, spotboys were only required to work 8 hours per shift. However, there is no fixed timetable at the moment. Like the actors, they must work 20 hours each. Often the workload is such that they have to sleep on the set itself.
For the shooting of a film, 15 to 20 spotboys are needed. If a TV show is being filmed, 5-6 spotboys are needed. At the same time, 15 to 20 spotboys are present on the set of the film. However, this number also increases depending on the project. All these tasks are decided by the spotboy in charge.
Spotboy payment is stopped throughout the year. Spotboy’s payment is not fixed. They receive between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000 for a day of filming.
Regarding Spotboy’s payment, Suresh says, “The country became independent, but it did not benefit them. They are not paid on time. If he has worked continuously for a month, he receives his salary after 4 to 6 months. Sometimes payment is stopped for a year. There are many cases where payment has not been received.
I have seen one or two cases where production houses initially talk about paying Rs 50,000 as fees, but after the film is made, citing losses, they ask for a compromise on a fee of just Rs 25,000.
Most spotboys only work 4-5 days a month. Spotboy’s job is not fixed. Sometimes they have work, sometimes not. Most spotboys only work 4-5 days a month. All the money is spent on household expenses. You have to work hard to pay for children’s school fees and other needs.
Many cannot find work for months. Some have not had a job for years. Either they started doing another job or their wives manage the household expenses.
Santosh said – We struggle a lot, but no one listens to us. Santosh said – We struggle a lot, but no one listens to us. I started working in 1998-99. At that time, the situation was even worse. Many sets did not have air conditioning. The risk of artists’ makeup being ruined was highest in summer. In such situations, we used to carry big fans on our shoulders and fan them. He himself was drenched in sweat.
Even today, the situation has not improved much. As on the set, you first have to feed the actors and the director. Then when our turn comes, thousands of tasks are assigned to us. We don’t even notice that we are eating. We have to leave everything and do their job first.
Some actors care about us. People like the late Siddharth Shukla and Jennifer Winget are in this list. At the same time, stars like Kushal Tandon also get angry over small things.
Suresh Shyamlal Gupta said that there are 3-4 ways for a spotboy to get work. Most work is obtained through oral advertising. No diploma is required for this.
People in the film industry are savages, they don’t care about safety. Cinema Workers’ Association President Suresh Shyamlal Gupta said, “It would not be wrong to term people in the film industry as savages. Films worth millions are being made, actors’ fees also run into millions, but there is no arrangement for the safety of the spotboys. Many times the set gets burned due to fire and people die. Later this case is suppressed. The family members do not even receive compensation.
Such things cannot come out. There is a producer lobby in the industry. They try to hide reality from each other. Spotboys do not speak openly about this issue for fear of not finding work.
The situation is so bad that sometimes production people beat them. The director-producer speaks in an abusive manner.
Chapter- 2- Now read the stories of Spotboy and his celebrity connections
Asking for Rs 1,700, Jackie Shroff offered Rs 70,000. Rakesh Dubey had worked with Jackie Shroff. Regarding this, he said: I had heard that Jackie Dada always helped everyone a lot. He is a good person at heart.
One day I badly needed money. There was no other way. Finally, Jackie gathered her courage and went to Dada’s house. I told him: Dada, my house is in ruins and the children are hungry. He asked me how much money I needed. I didn’t say much, just Rs 1700. He told his son to send Rs 70,000 home.
I refused saying I didn’t need a lot of money. Then the next day his man came to my house, gave me Rs 1900 and made me talk to Jackie Dada.
Rakesh Dubey worked as a spotboy in Jackie Shroff’s film Doodh Ka Karz.
Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan helped out during the lockdown. Rakesh said that there are many celebrities who help spotboys in difficult times. Like Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan did during the lockdown. Regarding this, he said: My condition had become very bad during Covid. I talked to many people, news was posted in many places, but no one helped.
I once received help from the union. Assistance of Rs 3,000 was received from there and ration worth Rs 1.5 thousand was received. It was also revealed that Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan gave it away. Other than that, no help came from anywhere.
Took 2 slaps from Sunil Shetty for Rs 1200. Regarding the experience of working with Sunil Shetty, Rakesh said, “Once I was working with Sunil Shetty. There wasn’t much money to pay in those days. I went to stand near Sunil Shetty. He asked me why you are here. I hesitated and said, Sir, I want Rs 1200. It came out of my mouth that I will give it later. He gave me the money while filming in Film City. Then, whenever Sunil Shetty Sahab saw me working, he would come and ask me where my money was. I used to say, sir, it’s not available now, I’ll earn it and give it to you.
Likewise, after 20-25 days, he called back and asked where the money was. He was very angry at that time. He called me in the van at Filmistan and then asked me. I said, at the moment my work is closed, I will give it. He then said why did you say I will return it. He pulled me twice and hit me. I thought, no problem, he is a big man and I also took the money, it will be good if I kill him in the van. At that time, I made it known that I would never take money from anyone.
Graphics – Vipul Sharma
People said – imitates Bachchan: When he became Bhishma, he got respect, borrowed it and made him Shaktiman.
Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna has prioritized ideals and principles over money in his career spanning almost 50 years. Rejected bids worth millions of rupees. I didn’t go to any filmmaker’s door to ask for work. I didn’t want to play the role of a supporting hero, so I stayed home without a job for years. …