The Federation of Western India Cine Employees has withdrawn its non-cooperation directive against Bollywood star Ranveer Singh, a move prompted by a legal notice from the actor and significant intervention from leading industry bodies, signalling a potential resolution in the Don 3 dispute.
Key Points
- The FWICE has withdrawn its non-cooperation directive against Ranveer Singh after the actor sent a legal notice to the organisation.
- The decision followed intervention from the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA), Producers Guild of India (PGI), Cine & TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA).
- FWICE President B N Tiwari stated that the aim is to resolve issues collaboratively, ensuring fairness for producers, directors, and actors.
- The original directive was issued on May 25 after Don 3 producers claimed significant pre-production costs were incurred due to Ranveer’s exit.
The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, said it has withdrawn the non-cooperative directive issued against Ranveer Singh over his exit from Farhan Akhtar’s Don 3 after the Dhurandhar star sent a legal notice to the organisation.
The decision was taken after an intervention by the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA), the Producers Guild of India (PGI) and the Cine & TV Artistes’ Association (CINTAA).
Industry Intervention and Resolution
“We are taking back our non-cooperative directive from immediate effect after a request by IMPAA, the producers’ guild and CINTAA,” FWICE President B N Tiwari told reporters.
“We have been told that we should all sit together with the producers’ body and take an appropriate decision where neither the producers and directors nor the actor face any issues,” Tiwari added.
“No one has won or lost in this matter. Our legal department will respond to his legal notice,” he added.
The non-cooperation directive against Ranveer was issued on May 25 and came after Akhtar and his producing partner Ritesh Sidhwani filed a complaint with the Indian Film and Television Directors Association (IFTDA), which referred the issue to the FWICE for further intervention.
Don 3 Dispute: Background
Don 3, a reboot of the popular franchise, has reportedly been in development for three years and was yet to begin shooting. The producers have claimed that over Rs 45 crore (Rs 450 million) had already been spent on pre-production.
FWICE, formed in 1956, is the primary trade union and umbrella organisation for film and television workers in India. Other than taking care of its members, including spot boys, camerapersons, sound engineers and editors, it also steps in to mediate conflict arising between artists, technicians and production studios.
According to Ashoke Pandit, chief advisor to FWICE, Ranveer sent the legal notice to the organisation on Tuesday evening.
Pandit urged Ranveer to engage with the federation and work towards resolving the issue.
“We all have celebrated his stardom, we are all with him and we want him to become an even bigger star. Our intention is to involve everyone in resolving all the problems, and not just this problem (referring to Don 3). We want industry to survive,” Pandit added.
FWICE’s Stance and Actor’s Response
Pandit expressed confidence that the matter would ultimately be resolved positively.
“Many big people from the industry like actors, producers, directors, etc want this to end. The federation has created an atmosphere where something like this if happens in future can be resolved,” Pandit claimed.
Pandit also stressed that the workers’ body never banned Ranveer who is currently not working on any project.
“We’ve no authority to ban to anyone, we are not judiciary. We used the phrase non cooperation directive because we’ve the right to decide whether we want to work with a person. This could be a choice made by the technician, worker, producer or actor, whether they wish to work with that person or not,” he said.
“Please see to it that our words are not used unnecessarily because it creates confusion. We inform our members to not work with a person but some may still choose to work with that person and we can’t stop him or her from doing so,” he added.
Though Ranveer hadn’t publicly reacted to the FWICE’s non-cooperation directive against im, his team had issued a statement, saying the actor continues to hold ‘deep respect and goodwill’ for everyone associated with the film and the industry.
‘Throughout the recent developments surrounding Don 3, he has consciously chosen to maintain silence, believing that professional discussions and personal equations are best handled with dignity, maturity and mutual respect,’; the statement said.
Ranveer has also found support from filmmakers Ram Gopal, Sanjay Gupta and actor-politician Kangana Ranaut.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
