Bollywood’s ultimate drama queen and outspoken reality TV star, Rakhi Sawant, has entered the explosive legal battle between superstar Ranveer Singh, filmmaker Farhan Akhtar, and the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). Reacting furiously to the “non-cooperation directive” issued against Ranveer following his abrupt departure from the action-thriller franchise Don 3, Rakhi fiercely defended the actor while launching scathing, unfiltered attacks against both the film federation and Farhan Akhtar.
Interacting with the paparazzi on Tuesday evening in Mumbai, Rakhi condemned the regulatory action, claiming that industry insiders are simply targeted out of deep-seated professional jealousy. She highlighted Ranveer’s self-made trajectory in Bollywood alongside his wife, Deepika Padukone. In her signature bold manner, she challenged FWICE to attempt similar punitive measures against industry heavyweight Salman Khan, warning that the Sultan actor would completely dismantle anyone who tried to step out of line.
The Dhurandhar Fueling: The industry-wide backlash against Ranveer intensified following his dramatic exit from Don 3, a project he walked out of just weeks before production was scheduled to commence. According to media trackers, the fallout occurred right after the gargantuan box-office success of his espionage thriller Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which shattered historical records to cross the domestic ₹1,000 crore milestone.
Rakhi Accuses Farhan Akhtar of Exploiting Ranveer for Publicity
FWICE took the drastic step of blacklisting Ranveer from taking up new assignments within the industry after the actor ignored three consecutive notices to resolve the matter in person. Excel Entertainment, spearheaded by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani, is currently demanding ₹45 crore in damages to recover heavily audited pre-production losses, which included overseas hotel bookings and location scouting expenses for over 200 crew members.
Rakhi did not hold back her disdain for Excel Entertainment’s director either, claiming Farhan Akhtar is weaponizing Ranveer’s star power to bring himself back into the public eye. “Farhan Akhtar hasn’t seen a massive solo hit of his own in ages; he was practically invisible in the mainstream cinematic dialogue,” Rakhi claimed aggressively. “Now, he is milking Ranveer’s name to garner cheap publicity and keep his project trending in news headlines.”
Superstars Are Not Above the Trade Union Law
While Ranveer’s management team broke their silence with an official brief emphasizing “dignity, maturity, and restraint,” they flatly told FWICE that a film workers’ trade union is not the legally appropriate forum to adjudicate complex corporate contract disputes. This dismissive stance further angered the federation’s leadership panel.
“When a federation invites you to talk, you cannot simply wave us away saying it’s not our domain,” countered Ashoke Pandit, Chief Advisor to FWICE. “We understand our trade union jurisdiction perfectly. We have taken a definitive stand in the collective interest of production stakeholders. We are sending an unequivocal message to the entire entertainment business that a superstar is never bigger than the law.”
As it stands, the non-cooperation directive remains active, meaning Indian directors and production houses have been urged to halt any upcoming collaborations with Ranveer until he agrees to sit down face-to-face with the federation to settle the ₹45 crore pre-production deficit.