“Ban FWICE, Not Ranveer”: Ram Gopal Varma Slams “Kangaroo Court” Over Don 3 Non-Cooperation Directive
Maverick filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) has fiercely jumped into the ongoing Don 3 crossfire, launching a scathing attack on the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the veteran director heavily criticized the trade union’s decision to issue a nationwide non-cooperation directive against Ranveer Singh, branding the federation’s intervention as a “kangaroo court” move and a “massive PR disaster” for the Indian film industry.
The public feud originally ignited after Ranveer Singh walked away from Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s highly anticipated action sequel, prompting Excel Entertainment to claim pre-production and location-scouting losses to the tune of ₹45 crores. When Ranveer’s legal team challenged FWICE’s jurisdiction over a private commercial contract, the union retaliated with an industry-wide ban—a move RGV argues is completely unlawful.
In a characteristically unsparing, lengthy digital post, Varma dismantled the union’s authority, demanding that the industry pull its support from the federation instead of the actor.
Ram Gopal Varma: “BAN ‘FWICE’ and not @RanveerOfficial. At the heart of this whole matter is a producer claiming massive pre-production losses, but that is just a private contractual dispute between two parties—like what happens in millions of cases all the time and all over India across all businesses.”
Varma strongly emphasized that a trade union has no legal backing to function as an arbitrary judiciary system. RGV pointed out that FWICE is neither a contractually recognized court of legal justice nor a government-authorized regulatory body. He argued that only the two signing parties understand the intricate, confidential clauses of their development deal, meaning a civil disagreement should be handled exclusively by actual judges in a court of law. He urged industry bodies to stop poking their “unwanted noses” into private civil matters that belong in arbitration chambers, not public union meetings.
The filmmaker further scoffed at the idea that a union-enforced non-cooperation directive could actually damage the career or commercial value of an established A-list superstar.
RGV’s explosive public defense lands right as senior megastar Salman Khan has reportedly stepped in behind closed doors to quietly mediate a financial truce between Ranveer and Farhan. Varma’s loud, anti-establishment intervention has amplified the debate, shifting the industry conversation toward whether powerful film unions are overstepping their legal bounds by trying to regulate private corporate talent agreements.
