The Federation of Western Indian Cine Employees (FWICE) has withdrawn its non-cooperation directive against actor Ranveer Singh, putting an end to the controversy that arose after a dispute between the actor and the makers of Don 3, Ritesh Sidhwani, and Farhan Akhtar’s Excel Entertainment.Reacting to the development, President of the Cinema and Television Artists Association (CINTAA).
Poonam Dhillon
She said she was pleased with the decision and maintained that the guidance should not have been issued in the first place.
“He has the right to choose his work.”
Speaking to Variety India, Poonam said, “As an actor and CINTAA president, I am happy that they have canceled the directive as it is definitely not worth it. We were against it from the beginning because FWICE had absolutely no credibility to take such action against an actor of his calibre.”She further stressed that actors have the freedom to make career choices and that such matters should be dealt with between the parties concerned.She said: “As an actor, he has the right to choose his work, and how the matter is handled between him and the producer. He is responsible and committed to his work, and we have seen his body of work.”Highlighting Ranveer’s professional association with Excel Entertainment, Poonam added, “As far as I know, he has an excellent relationship with Excel Entertainment, with whom he has done films like Gully Boy and Dil Dhadakne Do.
Farhan Akhtar is also an actor. So we support him too. We don’t want any of our representatives to face such problems. Problems can always be solved. We support Ranveer as he is a member of CINTAA.
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Explains CINTAA’s absence from the FWICE press conference
Poonam also addressed actress Rupali Ganguly’s presence at the recent FWICE press conference, clarifying that she does not represent CINTAA.“I think she went in her own individual capacity – as an actress and friend of Mr BN Tiwari (FWICE president).
CINTAA did not receive an official invitation to attend this press conference. “We were also not informed of the previous press conference in which they announced that they would be issuing a notice of non-cooperation,” she added.
“There is no animosity on Ranveer’s part.”
Revealing that she had personally spoken to Ranveer’s family during the controversy, Poonam said that she had been in touch with the actor’s father and was assured that efforts were already underway to resolve the issue.“I spoke to Ranveer’s father at length and we were communicating on WhatsApp. He thanked me for our support. We spoke to them to understand the situation. He told me that they were interacting with Excel Entertainment and how close and fond he is to Farhan and the Excel team. There is no animosity on his part.”She added that when CINTAA offered to help, the family felt intervention was unnecessary.“I asked him if CINTAA could help. But he said, ‘We didn’t involve you because we didn’t want to bother you and we were already in the process of resolving the problem.’ Technically, he didn’t need our involvement. I’m glad the matter was resolved in a positive way.”
“The complexity created by FWICE was unnecessary.”
Poonam also questioned FWICE’s handling of the issue, saying existing mechanisms already exist within the industry to resolve disputes.“The complexity created by FWICE was unnecessary. There are systems in place. People sit across the table and talk to each other. And of course, there is the law of the land. If they had reached out to the right people, like CINTAA, we could have had better communication. However, FWICE did not reach out to us.”With the non-cooperation directive now withdrawn, the episode seems to have ended on an amicable note, with Ranveer Singh’s camp and Excel Entertainment reportedly resolving the issue through dialogue.
