FWICE withdraws non-cooperation directive against Ranveer after actor's legal notice

Mumbai, Jun 3 (PTI): The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) on Wednesday said it has withdrawn the non-cooperative directive issued against Ranveer Singh over his exit from Farhan Akhtar's "Don 3" after the "Dhurandhar" star sent a legal notice to the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 Cine & TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA).

"We are taking back our non-cooperative directive from immediate effect after a request by IMPAA, the producers' guild and CINTAA.

"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," FWICE president BN Tiwari told reporters here.

"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 Singh 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”, 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 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, Singh sent the legal notice to the organisation on Tuesday evening.

He urged Singh 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," he added.

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 (solve the matter). The federation has created an atmosphere where something like this if happens in future can be resolved," he claimed.

Pandit also stressed that the workers' body never banned Singh, 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 Singh hadn't publicly reacted to the FWICE's non-cooperation directive against him, 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.

Singh has also found support from filmmakers Ram Gopal, Sanjay Gupta and actor-politician Kangana Ranaut.