Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has weighed in on the ongoing controversy involving Ranveer Singh, Excel Entertainment, and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) over Don 3. The director took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his views on the dispute, expressing support for Ranveer Singh and questioning FWICE’s decision to issue a non-cooperation directive against the actor.
The controversy began after reports emerged that Ranveer Singh had exited Don 3, leading to a dispute with producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment. According to reports, the production house alleged that the actor’s withdrawal resulted in losses of nearly Rs 45 crores due to pre-production work, location scouting, and other development expenses.
Following the disagreement, FWICE reportedly issued multiple notices to Ranveer Singh, asking him to present his side of the matter. After the actor’s legal team questioned the federation’s jurisdiction over a private commercial agreement, FWICE announced a non-cooperation directive against him.
Reacting to the development, Ram Gopal Varma strongly criticized the federation’s involvement in the dispute. In a lengthy post on X, Varma wrote, “BAN ‘FWICE’ and not @RanveerOfficial.”
The filmmaker argued that the issue was essentially a contractual disagreement between two parties and should not be treated as an industry-wide matter. “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 it happens in millions of cases all the time and all over India in all businesses,” he wrote.
Varma further questioned FWICE’s authority to intervene in such disputes, stating, “FWICE is neither a court of legal justice nor a government authorised regulatory body.”
He also claimed that only the parties directly involved were aware of the full circumstances surrounding the disagreement and suggested that any legal issues should be resolved through appropriate judicial channels. “Only the disputing parties will know the intricacies about what happened, and so the matter should be between them like any other civil matter, and in case one or both appeal to a court, the judge decides the matter,” he added.
The filmmaker further argued that the actor’s professional standing would remain unaffected despite the controversy. “And here we arrive at the main point that everyone in their heart knows, including the disputing company, and for that matter even FWICE, that if @RanveerOfficial simply nods a yes, there will be a one kilometre long queue of producers outside his house tomorrow morning with cheques ready,” Varma wrote.
He concluded his statement by urging all parties to avoid unnecessary interference in what he described as a civil dispute. “Let’s not poke our unwanted noses into a civil dispute between 2 parties,” he stated.
BAN “FWICE” and not @RanveerOfficial
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…
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) May 29, 2026
The comments come at a time when the Don 3 controversy continues to generate discussion across the film industry. Earlier, CINTAA Vice-President Padmini Kolhapure publicly voiced support for Ranveer Singh, while CINTAA president Poonam Dhillon suggested that the matter may have been resolved differently had the association been approached earlier.
Meanwhile, Ranveer Singh’s representatives have remained silent on the issue, stating that professional disagreements are best handled with maturity rather than through public speculation. Readers may recall that Bollywood Hungama recently reported that Salman Khan has been attempting to mediate between the parties privately in an effort to find an amicable resolution.
As of now, neither Excel Entertainment nor Ranveer Singh has officially commented on the future of Don 3.
Also read: BREAKING: Ashoke Pandit CONFIRMS, “Farhan Akhtar has asked for Rs. 45 crores from Ranveer Singh after his walkout”; FWICE issues non-cooperative directive against the actor
