Union Reverses Boycott
Indian Film Union Drops Boycott Call Against Ranveer Singh After Don 3 Departure
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India's powerful film workers union has dropped its informal ban on Bollywood star Ranveer Singh, ending a standoff that had threatened to derail his career. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), which represents over 500,000 film workers, withdrew its "non-cooperation directive" on June 3, just days after Singh served the union a formal legal notice challenging its authority, according to BBC.
The dispute began when Singh allegedly quit the upcoming action film *Don 3* weeks before overseas shooting was set to start. Producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment claimed the sudden exit cost them roughly ₹45 crore — about $5.4 million — in pre-production expenses, Yahoo News reported.
Singh's Don 3 Exit Sparked a ₹45 Crore Crisis
Singh was announced as the new lead for *Don 3* in August 2023, taking over from Shah Rukh Khan. But in December 2025, flush from the massive box-office success of his spy thriller *Dhurandhar*, Singh told producers he wanted out. He reportedly cited four problems: a weak script, a slashed budget of ₹150 crore he felt was too low, a fee dispute, and concerns that director Farhan Akhtar was distracted by other acting work, according to BBC.
Private mediation failed. Singh reportedly offered to pay ₹10 crore to walk away from the project and even offered a 25% discount on his fee for a future Excel film. Both offers were rejected, Yahoo News reported. Akhtar's team then filed formal complaints with the Indian Film and Television Directors' Association and the Producers Guild in April 2026.
FWICE Issued a Sweeping Ban, Then Quickly Reversed It
On May 25, 2026, FWICE issued its non-cooperation directive. The move effectively told its 500,000-plus members to stop working with Singh. FWICE president B.N. Tiwari framed the ban as protecting daily wage workers whose livelihoods stalled when *Don 3* went into limbo. FWICE advisor Ashoke Pandit was blunt, saying "no superstar is above the law," according to BBC.
Singh's team hit back fast. On June 2, his lawyers served FWICE a formal legal notice, arguing the union had no legal right to ban him from working. The notice pointed to a 2017 Competition Commission of India ruling that explicitly bars trade unions from anti-competitive actions like industry blacklists. One day later, FWICE withdrew the directive. Tiwari called it an "internal decision" made in the "spirit of harmony," though industry analysts say the legal threat forced their hand, according to Yahoo News.
A Career-Driven Exit or a Contractual Betrayal?
The heart of the row is what motivated Singh to leave. His *Dhurandhar* franchise earned over ₹3,200 crore combined at the box office, making him one of Bollywood's biggest stars. During mediation, Excel's Ritesh Sidhwani reportedly asked Singh directly: would he have quit *Don 3* if *Dhurandhar* had flopped? Singh reportedly admitted he would not have, according to BBC. That answer deepened the sense of betrayal on the producers' side.
Veteran producer T.P. Aggarwal called FWICE's original ban "blackmail" and filed a separate petition in Bombay Civil Court. Legal experts agree the union overstepped. Media lawyer Sanjay Vasudevan noted that FWICE is a trade union, not a government body, and has no power to bar anyone from employment, Yahoo News reported.
Mediation Continues, and Bollywood Tightens Its Rules
With the ban lifted, Singh is free to resume work including his upcoming zombie thriller *Pralay*. But the financial fight with Excel Entertainment is not over. The Producers Guild announced fresh mediation rounds on June 4, with VP Manish Goswami leading talks to keep the case out of court, according to BBC.
The broader industry is already changing because of this dispute. The Producers Guild is now drafting standardized talent agreements designed to prevent last-minute exits and protect producer investments. The stalled *Don 3* project directly affected an estimated 500 technicians and daily wage workers across action, lighting, and set departments — the very workers FWICE claimed it was defending all along, Yahoo News reported.
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