Recently, Ram Gopal Varma criticised Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) over its non-cooperation directive against Ranveer Singh amid his dispute with Farhan Akhtar over Don 3, calling it “outdated” and demanding a ban. Now, FWICE has hit back, accusing the filmmaker of disrespecting the organisation and demanding an apology. The federation also alleged that RGV owes over ₹1 crore to technicians.
FWICE hits back
On Wednesday, FWICE held a press conference to announce that it has withdrawn the non-cooperative directive issued against Ranveer over his exit from Farhan Akhtar‘s Don 3 after the Dhurandhar star sent a legal notice to the organisation. On the sidelines of the meet, FWICE chief advisor Ashoke Pandit came forward to slam RGV over his tweet against the union.
“Ek director hain jinka naam hai, Ram Gopal Varma. Toh Ram Gopal Varma ji ne ek bahut bada tweet kiya that aur humari dhajiyan udane ki koshish ki thi. Unhone abusive language use ki the, ke yeh hote kaun hain, inko ban kardena chaiyeh… Aur democrazy hai aap kuch bhi bol sakte ho, humme koi aitraaz nahi hai,” Ashoke said.
It translates to, “There is a director named Ram Gopal Varma. Ram Gopal Varma ji made a very strong tweet and tried to tear us apart. He used abusive language, saying who are they and that they should be banned… It’s a democracy – you can say whatever you want, we have no objection.”
Ashoke continued, “Lekin, we would like to tell the world today that Ram Gopal Varma owes over ₹1 crore 25 lakh to the technicians and the workers. Aur hum aise hi hawa mein kissi ko accuse nahi kar rahe hain. Aur hum unki tarahn badla lene ki bhi koshish bhi nahi kar rahe. Hum unko dilane ki koshish kar rahe hain, aur mujhe yakeen hai ke unhe yaad bhi hoga… Ek 2017 se case chal raha hai unki Telugu film Officer ko leke… Aur 2019 mein Ram Gopal Varma ne ek letter likha tha federation ko.”
It translates to, “But we would like to tell the world today that Ram Gopal Varma owes over ₹1 crore 25 lakh to technicians and workers. We are not making such allegations without basis. And unlike him, we are not trying to take revenge. We are simply trying to remind him about it. I am sure he does remember it. A case related to his Telugu film Officer has been going on since 2017… and in 2019, Ram Gopal Varma had also written a letter to the federation.”
Ashoke further claimed that in his letter, RGV took responsibility for the payments and requested additional time from the federation to settle all outstanding dues.
“We are in 2026 now, and the money has not come to us. And he wants us to be banned. We have a strong objection to what he posted on social media, for using the wrong words and disrespecting the federation. And we demand an apology for the same from him,” Ashoke said.
What did RGV say
Last week, Ram Gopal Varma came forward to support Ranveer Singh and criticise the FWICE for issuing a non-cooperation directive against the actor. The director started his long post on X, formerly known as Twitter, by writing, “BAN “FWICE” and not @RanveerOfficial”.
RGV wrote, “The so called “BAN” or non co-operation in the style of Gandhiji , 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 , the brutal truth is that most of those lakhs don’t even know the internal facts of the two parties dispute.”
“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 actual fact it disregards established legal rules, due process, and impartiality. That is because the verdict is often decided in advance by a group of a specific agenda oriented people meeting privately, including actors who are scared shitless with the mega success of @RanveerOfficial in Dhurandhar,” he added.
According to RGV, FWICE intervening in the dispute will be a “massive PR disaster” for the body as it is “screaming in desperation while at the same time demonstrating its outdatedness”. In his lengthy post, RGV shared that in the matter of the “said producer being so wronged, the truth is that it is not FWICE’s lakhs of workers, but it is the other producers in the industry who should not want to work” with Ranveer.
Ram Gopal Varma concluded the note by sharing a “brutal truth”, by writing, “It is stars like @RanveerOfficial who sell tickets at the theatres and not FWICE. It is stars like @RanveerOfficial who create employment to 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”.
