The Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) has condemned the ongoing 'Boycott Bollywood' trend and instances of vandalism and intimidation in theatres. It has also asked the government for intervention. 

At a recent event, actor Suniel Shetty urged UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to help reduce anti-Bollywood vitriol and boycott calls. Both the letter from FWICE and Suniel's plea came after VHP and Bajrang Dal members knocked down posters of Shah Rukh Khan starrer Pathaan at a Gujarat mall. A boycott campaign has been concurrently raging against the film despite reported clearance from the CBFC. 

In a letter decrying the climate of hatred against the film industry, which sustains hundreds of livelihoods, the federation wrote, “People have been barging into theatres and threatening the public and forcefully vacating the theatres. There have been threats to the producers and the lead actor/actresses. They are abused on social media platforms with filthy/vulgar language.”

The federation said they condemn the boycotting of any film cleared by the censor board. "Getting a film certified through the CBFC is itself an achievement.... The protesters of the film should thus follow the right channel and report their grievances against the film to the CBFC and other governing authorities rather than blindly coming up with such destructive trend to blatantly boycott the entire industry.”

The CBFC has reportedly granted a U/A certificate to Pathaan after over 10 cuts, including changes to the song Besharam Rang. The film is the latest in a line of Bollywood movies facing political and right-wing heat ahead of release. Earlier, Aamir Khan's Laal Singh Chaddha also fell prey to an online boycott campaign. However, condemnations from industry leaders, barring a few exceptions, have been mute.