31 May,2026 07:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Arpika Bhosale
In a statement Ranveer Singh has said that he doesn’t want to comment on the matter . PIC/INSTAGRAM @ranveersingh
We all adore Ranveer Singh; we might not all be fans, but in an industry full of leading men who took themselves too seriously, he was a breath of fresh air. His knowledge of obscure movies and songs, his kitschy fashion sense made him relatable and interesting. Other stars were a little too "polished" and reserved. Enter Singh, who broke out into songs mid interviews, wore eye-watering pink suits, and said and did whatever he wanted.
But his wilfulness has earned the ire of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), which recently put out a non-cooperation directive against the actor after he pulled out of Don 3's production. The May 25 notice requested around 38 different artist associations and unions to boycott any projects linked to Singh, and all hell broke loose.
Farhan Akhtar's Excel Entertainment has asked for Rs 45 crore in reparations from the Dhurandhar actor. FILE PIC/NIMESH DAVE
In media reports, many have alleged that this is a tactic to get Singh to pay out the R45 crore already invested in Don 3's pre-production by Excel Entertainment and its owners, Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar. Industry stakeholders, though, insist that the real motive is to send a message: it's high time that stars understand they cannot exit a project willy-nilly.
Either way, though, it's the last rung of Bollywood that will suffer the most. Hundreds of technicians who committed their time and expertise to Don 3 have now lost weeks of work because of this mess. And even if FWICE's boycott is carried out, once again, it's technicians who will lose out on paying work.
"Throughout the recent developments surrounding Don 3, he [Ranveer Singh] has consciously chosen to maintain silence, believing that professional discussions and personal equations are best handled with dignity, maturity and mutual respect.
While several narratives and speculations have surfaced over time, Ranveer has never considered it necessary to respond publicly or contribute to conjecture. His focus remains firmly on his work and the commitments ahead. Choosing restraint and grace in moments like these has always been a conscious decision on his part, and he will continue to maintain the same stance."
Union head and veteran spot dada Sharad Shelar says worker can't afford to turn away paying work
The Cine Costume Make-up Artiste and Hair Association was established in 1951 and has grown to a 7000-strong membership, including almost every kind of artiste who works in Bollywood. The union head, Sharad Shelar, aka Sharad dada, is a senior spot dada who has worked with every actor one can imagine. He explains why Singh backing out of a mega project like Don 3 hits all the technicians attached to the film.
Sharad Shelar from the Cine Costume Make-up Artiste and Hair Association has opposed the non-cooperation against Singh. PIC/Satej Shinde
"Usually when actors as big as Ranveer [Singh] back out of projects, the film is shelved in its entirety. So let's say a technician would have worked on that film for three months - he now has to look for a job to compensate for the lost income. And jobs in the industry have become scarce anyway because such big-budget movies are not made often anymore."
Shelar is angry about the non-cooperation directive issued by FWICE, and alleges that none of the unions under the federation were consulted before the call was taken. "There are 38 registered unions under FWICE, my union alone has 7000 people. None of these producers or guild members spoke to us even once before banning Ranveer. There are no big movies being made that employ technicians by the dozens, and now they are asking us not to pick up some work we might get here and there also? We do not have that luxury," he says.
"The situation now is so bad that workers are beating each other up to get work for the day. If I say I will take Rs 100, another worker says he will work for Rs 50," he rues, "Paristhiti itki vait aahe ki technician ekamekana panas rupe saathi martaath (Things are so bad, we're beating each other up over Rs 50 work)." Then there are veterans who are masters of their craft, who refuse to squabble over pennies and end up jobless, he adds.
Shelar, who turned 71 this year, tells us that associations like theirs have helped artistes with funds in medical emergencies, post retirement and even during weddings. But producers are nowhere to be found during their time of need.
Shelar says that he recently visited a movie set in Goa and realised that hardly any of the technicians were members of federations. "So they will not fight for us when big production houses employ, say, just five out of 25 technicians from unions. Then they'll turn around and say don't work with so-and-so artiste?" he asks.
Bharati K Dubey, veteran entertainment journalist, says she still hopes for an amicable settlement for the sake of the industry
The problem with such non-cooperation directives is that the daily worker really suffers. Ranveer and the directors/production house will not have much of a dent in their income, or they might make up for the loss somewhere else. But the technician can't do that.
Bharati K Dubey
At a time when thefilm industry is in such dire financial conditions, we must keep our egos aside and work together. I hope the producers and Ranveer come to an understanding soon and the already struggling industry doesn't take this unnecessary hit. Also, Don sabh ko dekhni thi (We all were looking forward to watching the movie)!"
The top rungs of the industry don't really get how bad things are for the last rungs of the industry right now. They are struggling to eat, pay rent, buy essentials, and now this non-cooperation directive will hit them too. The movie producers and star will move on from this, but they're completely detached from the reality of how it will impact everyone else.
FWICE head Ashoke Pandit an SOP is in the works to ensure accountability from anyone who rescinds their production commitments
Ashoke Pandit, the head of FWICE, says that the trend of artistes pulling out from projects has been going on for too long. He hopes that practice will end once they draft an SOP on the time frame within which an artiste can back out of a project in good faith.
Ashoke Pandit. FILE PIC/SATEJ SHINDE
"It's not about going against Ranveer Singh; we have seen this trend happening too often. Last month, I had a case where an assistant director and four people in their team told the producer at the last minute - just before they were to board a flight to the shoot location - that they were dropping out of the production," he says.
"We are currently in talks with all four producer bodies, The Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA), Producers Guild of India andWestern India Film Producers' Association (WIFPA) Indian Film and TV Producers Council (IFTPC), and we are trying to bring in some guidelines that will ensure accountability of not just actors, but anyone including a producer commits to an actor but drops them at the very last minute," says Pandit.
As of now, the industry does not have any official guidelines on this issue. The lack of regulation is hurting the industry at a time when it is barely hanging on by a thread. "In the case of Don 3, the shoot was to begin, workers were flying in, hotel rooms had been booked. When an actor commits to a project in good faith, the production house takes their word for it and covers these pre-production costs. Excel [Entertainment] spent Rs 45 crore on this," he adds.
Rs 45 CR
Amount already spent on pre-production
Rs 275 CR
Total budget for Don 3
Lavin Hirani, a lawyer with 15 years of experience in showbiz cases, says the boycott is not legally binding, but can make for leverage in settlement talks
Hirani & Associates is a full-service law firm in Bandra, specialising in IP, Media & Entertainment, and litigation advisory. The firm serves top-tier clients, including leading production houses, A-list talent, and internationalmusic labels. Founder Lavin Hirani has over 15 years of experience in India's media and entertainment sector and has had clients such as Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny Deol, and Rana Daggubati, as well as major studios and streaming platforms.
Lavin Hirani
On the Ranveer Singh-Don 3 dispute, Hirani says cases of this kind are not new to the industry, but that the sequence of events matters. "From what I understand, the film was announced in 2023 and stayed largely dormant for a long stretch. After Dhurandhar released and performed strongly, Ranveer exited the project," he says. "We don't know precisely what happened. There are reports of creative differences, and the timing is worth noting, coming soon after a commercially successful release," he adds.
On the FWICE directive itself, Hirani is careful to separate what it is from what it can do. "A non-cooperation directive is not legally binding, and it is not a ban," he says. "In practice it can create pressure toward a settlement and complicate an actor's future productions, but it carries no force of law," he adds.
He also clarifies how the matter reached FWICE. "Going by FWICE's own account, the directive did not originate from a complaint by Excel Entertainment directly. The grievance was filed by Farhan Akhtar, the director of Don 3, before the Indian Film and Television Directors Association, which then forwarded it to FWICE. The producers cited pre-production losses."
Hirani notes the dynamic can run the other way too. "There are also cases where producers drop actors once a bigger star becomes available, and little is said about the effect on the actor who is let go," he says. "As a general industry pattern, you also see actors keep more than one producer waiting before committing. These tensions are not one-sided."
He draws a structural contrast with Hollywood. "There, producers cannot hire outside the guild, and the guild disciplines producers who refuse to sign union contracts. Here, a federation is disciplining the actor for leaving a film. That inversion is structurally unusual rather than standard practice," he observes.
On what follows if an actor is said to have breached, Hirani is precise about the remedies. "People loosely call it âspecific performance,' but a court will generally not order specific performance of a personal-service contract - you cannot compel an actor to perform," he says.
"Occasionally a court may grant a narrow negative injunction restraining the actor from taking up competing work for the term of the contract, but that is rarely granted and tightly limited. In most cases the producer's realistic remedy is a claim for damages." He expects one of two outcomes. "Either a settlement that closes the matter, or litigation that does not."
