The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) is expected to make a major announcement regarding Ranveer Singh on Wednesday (June 3), potentially bringing an end to the controversy that has dominated industry discussions over the past week.
After issuing a non-cooperation directive against the actor on May 25, FWICE is now likely to revoke the order during a press conference. The development comes amid the ongoing dispute linked to Don 3 and producer-director Farhan Akhtar's production house, Excel Entertainment.
According to a report in Bollywood Hungama, the decision to withdraw the directive has been taken after consultations with senior members of the film industry.
A source told the portal, “The head honchos of FWICE will likely announce that they are going to lift the non-cooperation directive against Ranveer. The revocation of their earlier order has been done in consultation with senior members of the film industry. In short, the workers are now free to work with Ranveer Singh in his upcoming projects.”
The press conference will once again be led by FWICE chief advisor Ashoke Pandit, president BN Tiwari, general secretary Ashok Dubey and treasurer Gangeshwalal Shrivastav.
Legal Developments Add New Twist
While FWICE prepares for its latest announcement, the issue has also moved into the legal arena.
According to reports, Ranveer has sent a legal notice to FWICE following the organisation's decision to issue the non-cooperation directive against him.
At the same time, veteran producer TP Aggarwal has approached the Bombay Civil Court in Dindoshi with a petition against FWICE and the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA). The petition argues that no individual or organisation has the authority to impose a ban or non-cooperation directive on members of the film industry.
What Led to the Non-Cooperation Directive?
The controversy began after FWICE held a press conference on May 25, where Ashoke Pandit outlined a complaint filed by Farhan Akhtar regarding Ranveer's alleged exit from Don 3.
Explaining the situation, Pandit said, “Farhan Akhtar filed a complaint in IFTDA (Indian Film & Television Directors' Association), which I head. The complaint very clearly said that 3 weeks before the unit was to leave the shoot, Ranveer withdrew from the film and left Don 3. Farhan came on Zoom as he was in London, while Ritesh Sidhwani visited the office of IFTDA. In the next two hours, they explained to us the issue and why they had come to us. Then, as a rule, we approached the other party. Every 10 days, we reminded him (Ranveer Singh) three times to meet us and share his version as well. However, we didn’t get any response from him. When we announced the press conference, we got an email stating that our federation doesn’t fall in the jurisdiction of the entire issue. It said, ‘Your body has no reason to get involved in this matter’.”
Following that, FWICE announced its decision to stop cooperation with the actor until the matter was resolved.
Birendra Nath Tiwari had stated, “We feel that the message should go to the industry ki koi superstar niyam se bada nahin hai. Hence, we have put in place a non-cooperation directive against Ranveer from this very day. We would like to inform all the workers and associations that until the dispute is solved and until Ranveer Singh doesn’t meet us, this directive will remain in place. Since this is about the rights of a producer, I would request the producer associations to also lend their support.”
