This lack of authority was underscored in 2017, when producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah dragged them to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over a dispute involving crew members. Shah alleged that specific provisions of an MoU signed between FWICE and producer associations, the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA), Film and Television Producers Guild of India (FTPGI) and Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC) in 2010 were anti-competitive. Eventually, the CCI found that the All-India Film Employees Confederation (AIFEC), FWICE and its affiliates, along with the producer associations, were in contravention of provisions of Section 3 of the Competition Act, 2002 (Act), which prohibits anti-competitive agreements.

A clause that mandated that a producer could engage only with members of the FWICE was in violation of the act. It also said that FWICE cannot impose any penalty to enforce that clause. Consequently, CCI issued a cease-and-desist order against the associations.

What it means for the Ranveer Singh case

This means that while the FWICE can ask its members not to cooperate with films featuring Ranveer Singh, those members can choose not to abide by that directive. Any who do so cannot be penalised monetarily or otherwise by the FWICE. Additionally, any film project featuring Ranveer can hire cast and crew members from outside the FWICE as well. While the union boasts of thousands of members from Bollywood, its membership does not comprise the entire film industry. That means that its boycott of Ranveer may make things tricky for the actor, but it will not translate into a hard ban on him.

What Ranveer Singh said about the dispute

Late on Monday night, after FWICE’s directive, Ranveer’s official spokesperson issued a statement addressing the development. “Ranveer Singh holds the highest regard for the film fraternity and for everyone associated with the Don franchise. 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. While several narratives and speculations have surfaced over time, Ranveer has never considered it necessary to respond publicly or contribute to conjecture. His focus remains firmly on his work and the commitments ahead,” the statement read.