Bollywood stars call the shots. Their word often becomes the rule. But can they also be shown the door—or simply "banned"?
As it turns out, the answer is yes.
Actor Ranveer Singh is now effectively facing "boycott" from around 4 lakh affiliated members of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) after the major Mumbai-based film workers' union issued a non-cooperation directive against the actor over his last-minute exit from Don 3.
That diktat from FWICE expectedly stunned the film fraternity. But it's also sparked a bigger conversation about the "callous nature of stars"—and how the whims of stars can make or break livelihoods and cost the industry a fortune.
The dispute has now taken a legal turn, after the actor served a notice to FWICE on 2 June and moved court challenging the federation's non-cooperation directive against him.
According to reports, the notice questions FWICE's jurisdiction to intervene in what his team has maintained is a contractual dispute between the actor and Excel Entertainment.
Even though this mess is technically a dispute between one actor and one production house, another question is in focus: can Bollywood move past its relationship‑based culture and start taking contracts and accountability seriously?