Fame and the first big break come at a price. Here's looking at how much starlets spend on keeping up with appearances In a business that is all about appearances, keeping up with it comes at a cost. Other than those who are already in the big league, peripheral actors end up spending a lot more on convincing the world that they 'belong,' than what the odd film assignment can afford. Take this Delhi girl - who acted in a film with a certain Khan and then disappeared - daughter of a CEO of one of the largest FMCG companies. Hopeful that he will be able to fund her Bollywood dreams, he sent her off to Mumbai. Problems arose when she started spending a lot more than what he earned. "I still remember the phone call from my father.

He wanted to know how come I had spent Rs 10 lakh in a month when I was living alone. I just couldn't explain to him that I had to spend at least that much as a struggling actress," she says.It is a cut-throat world where there is no mercy for those who cannot spend. A stylist who works with designers to procure dresses for struggling starlets, says: "Some girls approach me to rent a dress and when I ask for 10 grand, which is five per cent of the cost of the dress, they look at me as though they want to kill me. Why come here and struggle honey if you cannot afford to rent a dress? Bollywood is no more a middle-class dream, one should know now."