Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma called out FWICE's ban on 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) had recently issued a non-cooperation directive against the actor, following his exit from Farhan Akhtar's Don 3 which had been in the making for three years.
Ram shared a post on his X handle on Saturday as he defended the Dhurandhar (2025) 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 It is just a pure performative muscle flexing, by an extremely outdated union system, desperately trying to hold on to their grip...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 Ram’s post.
Farhan and his business 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 Farhan’s return to direction after 2011's Don 2, which featured Shah Rukh Khan. The first Don, written by Farhan’s father Javed Akhtar and Salim Khan, was made in 1978 and featured Amitabh Bachchan and Zeenat Aman.
Ranveer reportedly walked out of Don 3 citing script changes as the reason.
Ritesh and Farhan 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.
