FWICE bans work with Ranveer Singh over Don 3 dispute

A major film industry union has issued a non-cooperation directive against actor Ranveer Singh, sparking a public dispute that has drawn in prominent filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) took the action following a complaint from producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment regarding the actor's exit from the long-gestating project "Don 3."

The producers alleged that Singh's withdrawal from the film, which had not yet begun shooting, resulted in pre-production losses of approximately Rs 45 crore. According to FWICE, the union sent multiple notices to the actor seeking his response on the matter, but received no reply, leading to the directive instructing industry members not to work with him until the issue is resolved.

In response, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has publicly criticized the union's intervention. In posts on the social media platform X, Varma described the directive as a "big fat joke" and accused FWICE of "pure performative muscle flexing" by an outdated system. He argued that the dispute is a private contractual matter between two parties and questioned the union's authority to intervene.