Ram Gopal Varma criticises FWICE's action against Ranveer Singh

New Delhi, May 30 (PTI) Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma called out FWICE’s ban on Bollywood star Ranveer Singh and said actors like him create employment for lakhs of cine workers, not industry unions.

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) issued a non-cooperation directive against actor against the actor on Monday, following his exit from Farhan Akhtar’s “Don 3” which had been in the making for three years.

Varma shared a post on his X handle on Saturday as he defended the “Dhurandhar” actor. “BAN ‘FWICE’ and not @RanveerOfficial. The so-called ‘BAN’ will eventually become a BIG FAT JOKE on FWICE. This isn’t industry or worker protection, like they are claiming. It is just a pure performative muscle flexing, by an extremely outdated

union system, desperately trying to hold on to their grip… Whether it claims to speak for over 5 lakh or 50 lakh workers,” he wrote.

“FWICE is neither a court of legal justice nor a government-authorised regulatory body, and at best it’s a kangaroo court, which by definition pretends to deliver justice, but in fact it disregards established legal rules, due process, and impartiality…This will be a massive PR Disaster for FWICE because it is screaming in desperation while at the same time demonstrating its outdatedness… It is stars like @RanveerOfficial, who create employment for those lakhs of FWICE workers and not FWICE. It is only because stars like @RanveerOfficial exist that the industry exists, and also the FWICE exists,” he added.

FWICE is yet to comment on Varma’s post.

Akhtar and his partner Ritesh Sidhwani had filed a complaint against Singh before the Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), which then referred the matter to FWICE for further intervention.

“Don 3”, which was to reboot the successful franchise for a third time with a new face, was yet to begin shooting. The producers claim that more than Rs 45 crore had already been spent in the pre-production phase.

According to FWICE, several notices have been sent to the actor, but there has been no response from him on the matter.

“Don 3” was intended to be Akhtar’s return to direction after 2011’s “Don 2”, which featured Shah Rukh Khan. The first “Don”, written by Akhtar’s father Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan, was made in 1978 and featured Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman.

Singh reportedly walked out of “Don 3” citing script changes as the reason.

Sidhwani and Akhtar claim that the actor, who has had his career’s biggest success with “Dhurandhar”, delayed the film multiple times before his final exit in December, 2025. PTI ATR ATR