Ranveer Singh, one of the most recognisable stars in Hindi cinema, is facing an industry-wide boycott for dropping out of the long-delayed film Don 3.

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), a Mumbai-based trade union body representing 32 craft associations and more than 500,000 workers across India’s film and television industries, announced on Monday that its members would not work on projects involving Singh until he personally meets the organisation regarding the dispute.

“We’ve decided to send a message to the industry that a superstar is not bigger than the law,” FWICE president BN Tiwari said during a press conference in Mumbai on Monday, according to The Indian Express.

Ashok Dubey, FWICE general secretary, added: “None of our sitting workers across India – including technicians, spotboys, etc – will work with Ranveer Singh.”

The conflict centres on Singh’s abrupt withdrawal from Don 3, the upcoming third instalment in one of Hindi cinema’s most beloved franchises. The original 1978 film starred Amitabh Bachchan, while director Farhan Akhtar rebooted the series in 2006 and 2011 with Shah Rukh Khan in the lead role.

Singh had been announced as Khan’s successor in 2023, with the film marketed as “a new era” for the franchise. Don 3 was expected to continue the story of the elusive underworld figure Don, one of Bollywood’s most enduring antiheroes, as he navigates a globe-spanning world of crime, betrayal and high-stakes heists.

FWICE chief adviser Ashoke Pandit said on Monday that Akhtar first approached the organisation on 11 April after Singh allegedly exited the film three weeks before shooting was due to begin overseas.

“Three weeks before the unit was to leave for shoot, Ranveer left the movie,” Pandit told reporters. He said Akhtar and producer Ritesh Sidhwani of Excel Entertainment had presented “all the expenses incurred on pre-production, which are accounted for and audited,” including “hotel bookings, location bookings and overseas travel bookings for over 200 workers”.

Singh’s exit at this stage was “highly unacceptable, contrary to industry ethics, and against long-standing professional norms followed within the film fraternity”, he said.

According to FWICE, Excel Entertainment has sought damages of Rs 450m (£3.49m) from Singh over alleged pre-production losses. Pandit said Singh had signed a three-film agreement with Excel Entertainment and had participated in location scouting and script discussions before leaving the project.

FWICE said it had sent Singh three notices requesting his appearance before the body, dated 22 April, 30 April, and 13 May. According to the organisation, Singh responded through his representatives stating that FWICE was “not the appropriate forum” for resolving what he viewed as a contractual dispute requiring legal adjudication, according to Variety India.

Singh responded publicly for the first time on Monday evening through a statement issued by his spokesperson.

“Ranveer Singh holds the highest regard for the film fraternity and for everyone associated with the Don franchise,” the statement said, reported India Today. “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.”

The statement continued: “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 dispute has been building for months around the troubled production of Don 3, which has faced repeated delays, reported script disagreements, and casting uncertainty since Singh was announced as the lead in 2023.

In February, The Hollywood Reporter India reported that the Producers Guild of India had convened meetings involving senior producers after Excel Entertainment alleged that Singh’s withdrawal had caused massive losses.

According to the report, Singh had argued that the production lacked a bound script and accused Akhtar of focusing on other acting commitments instead of Don 3.

Akhtar addressed the controversy publicly in an interview with the outlet in April. “Nothing can be taken for granted till you actually have it on film,” he said, adding that “a lot has happened over the last couple of years” and described the period as “more challenging than earlier”.

India’s Competition Commission ruled in 2017 that FWICE and associated producer bodies could not impose anti-competitive restrictions preventing producers from hiring non-members or penalising workers who defied union directives.

Advocate Ameet Naik, founder and managing partner of Mumbai law firm Naik Naik & Co, told Variety India on Monday that FWICE’s order was “illegal in more ways than one”.

“You can’t have an order that bans anybody. That’s in restraint of trade,” Naik said. “FWICE has no jurisdiction and ultimately it is not a statutory body.”

Girish Johar, a film producer and trade analyst, told India Today that while the federation’s actions could slow projects down temporarily, Bollywood “does not function under one central authority”.

“It is an important authority and a respected body, and everyone does listen to it,” Johar said. “There may be certain delays or a slowdown in the process.”

After several commercial disappointments earlier in the decade, Singh regained major box office momentum with the success of the action thriller Dhurandhar and its 2026 follow-up sequel, which became one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of the year.

FWICE has issued similar non-cooperation directives before. In 2019, singer Mika Singh was temporarily banned after performing at a wedding in Karachi during heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, before the federation revoked the directive following a public apology.

In 2025, FWICE also threatened “complete non-cooperation” against Diljit Dosanjh over the casting of Pakistani actor Hania Aamir in the Punjabi-language film Sardaar Ji 3. Despite the warning, Dosanjh continued filming projects and touring internationally, while the film was released overseas but not in Indian cinemas.