In a surprising move, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has rescinded its appeal urging industry members to boycott Indian film star Ranveer Singh after he allegedly walked out of the set of the upcoming film Don 3.
Earlier last month, the association had issued an informal ban following complaints from producers who said Singh had quit the film weeks before overseas shooting was due to begin, despite the producers having already spent about 450 million rupees ($4.7m) on pre‑production work.
After receiving a legal notice from Singh – the BBC has not seen the notice – FWICE dropped the boycotting directive, stating it had no authority to ban a professional and that the federation’s legal team would respond to the notification. FWICE president BN Tiwari backed the star, saying the industry stood behind him and the federation’s legal team would address the dispute.
Chief adviser Ashoke Pandit said the decision followed requests from several industry organisations and urged Singh to meet the union to resolve the dispute, while pointing out that the federation would continue to celebrate his stardom rather than enforce a ban.
Singh has not commented publicly. He is one of India’s highest‑earning actors, known for his flamboyant on‑screen persona and successful films such as Padmaavat and Gully Boy. He is also a recent box‑office success as the lead in the spy thriller Dhurandhar.
The controversy stems from an earlier complaint by director Farhan Akhtar, who had selected Singh for the role in Don 3, a continuation of the long‑running action franchise that began with Amitabh Bachchan in 1978 and was rebooted with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role.
FWICE has a reputation for being vocal during political tensions, notably during the 2025 incident where it urged Indian artists not to work with Pakistani performers. In 2025, it also issued a similar directive against actor‑singer Diljit Dosanjh over a Punjabi film co‑starring a Pakistani actor.
