Ranveer Singh was let go from Don 3 late last December. He did so only three weeks before the cameras were to be checked overseas. The choice left many bridges burned. Producers Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani were furious at Excel Entertainment. You don’t cancel a big overseas tour without spending millions of rupees. They submitted their complaint in writing. They wanted someone that would hold him responsible for his abrupt exit.
But then the Federation of Western India Cine Employees took it up. Mostly people refer to them as the FWICE. They hit a big rock earlier this week. They gave him a stern injunction to refrain from acting.They issued strict non-cooperation directive to the actor. It’s simply a boycott. The complete ban of a man, who just made a big hit in the Indian box office. The federation states that they had no alternatives. They reported the actor didn’t show up at their office to shed light on the mess.
His camp didn’t fold up and march away. They have no legal jurisdiction in case of an actor’s contract dispute, representatives told the film body. The ban was made public and his team issued a clean-shaven statement. They were very clear that his silence is deliberate. He’s not looking to add to the mix of industry rumors. He only wants to do his work.
Enter Shobhaa De
Shobhaa De was a witness to the drama. She chimed in on Wednesday evening with an Instagram video. She had much to say.
She thrust her hand for the throat. The old publisher dubbed the entire debacle a shady scheme. She didn’t want to think that she just had a broken contract with Excel Entertainment. There’s a larger game being played behind the scenes at Mumbai’s studios, she feels.
She introduced another large movie to the mix. Dhurandhar was directed, produced and written by Aditya Dhar. This spy thriller was released in theaters earlier this year. It had a big beating of the pants at the box office. It reached three times the number of three billion worldwide. This is the highest turnover Indian franchise ever. A true monster hit.
The failure to which De refers, the one that saw it become a massive success, he says, put a big target on all of them. This boycott is like a coordinated attack, she said. Not only the lead actor but all of Dhar and his production crew. She said one very strong lobby is attempting to repair another lobby. Entertainment should never mix with political ideology, according to her.
In Delhi, this is the Delhi Gymkhana Connection.
She used a highly specific comparison. She termed the actor as ‘Delhi Gymkhana of Bollywood’. For those who don’t watch politics in the capital, quite a statement. Delhi Gymkhana Club is an ancient colonial club. A home for the most elite. The government just recently instructed the private club to get their bags and move out of its prime real estate. It was a huge challenge from the States to the established order.
The same thing is happening in the movie industry now, de says. It’s simply the power of the authority. It’s a matter of control. The powers that be do not want to ban someone just for the sake of showing him a lesson. They wish to reinsert an over-privileged institution, or in this case, a superstar back into its place. She pretty much charged the federation with being like playground bullies who want to bully someone they see as being too big for them.
Her caption said it all. She urged them not to act like Trump. Threats are no good. Intimidation fails.
Who suffers here really?
De took the chop at the FWICE. She seriously wondered, “Who are you guys? She acknowledged that by the time this fiasco happened the acronym was just a buzzword to her.
And all of a sudden, this bunch is playing the part of the final gatekeepers of Indian film. They are informing studios that they will not allow the country’s biggest bankable star to enter a soundstage. This is, of course, the irony, said De. The federation is established for the protection of daily wage workers and technicians. However, preventing a big name actor from shooting a film really stuns the entire shoot.
If a film doesn’t get going, then the light boys are sent home. Boys lose their daily wages at the place. Makeup artists stand around waiting. It is the working class technicians that the FWICE is protesting against, who are being stepped on by this non-cooperation directive. They are jobless because of circumstances, not their own.
De said: “If there was a real issue with Excel Entertainment, they should have gone and got corporate lawyers.” They could have dragged the contract issue into a civil court. Rather, they employed a third party that wove its way through the gears of the whole sub-industry.
The Constitutional Question
This beggar’s mess brings something bigger to the fore. It evokes basic human rights. The Indian Constitution provides some fundamental freedoms for each individual citizen. Article 19(1)(g) provides for the right to practice any profession. You are free to engage in any occupation, trade or business.
Is it legal for a private film federation to prevent a citizen from exercising his or her role? This is where the legal underpinning becomes very shaky. Non-cooperation directive is an additional ban not under the court. It will intentionally deprive an individual of his earning without any trial. India’s courts have historically disapproved of these types of blanket industry boycotts. They are an infringement of the right to work.
Poonam Dhillon is the president of the actors’ association, CINTAA. She even admitted, in public, that the move was “odd”. When things got hot, she felt the actor should have sought his guild’s support. However, the main question remains unanswered. You have an unofficial agency determining who can make money in the commercial movie industry. It’s seriously pushing the envelope for what is allowed in a democracy.
