After Ram Gopal Varma supported Ranveer Singh and asked to ban FWICE, Ashoke Pandit alleged that Varma still owes more than Rs 1.25 crore to technicians and workers associated with his 2018 Telugu film ‘Officer’.
Published: June 3, 2026, 5:30 PM IST
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https://www.india.com/entertainment/fwice-accuses-ram-gopal-varma-of-failing-to-pay-rs-1-25-crore-to-technicians-case-going-on-since-2017-8435121/
Ram Gopal Varma (PC-Twitter)
FWICE Chief Advisor Ashoke Pandit has responded strongly to filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma’s suggestion that the federation should be banned, not Ranveer Singh. During a press conference on Wednesday, Pandit alleged that Varma still owes more than Rs 1.25 crore to technicians and workers associated with his 2018 Telugu film Officer. Pandit said that everyone has the right to express their opinion in a democracy, but added that the federation wanted to remind people about the pending dues. He clarified that the statement was not made out of revenge but to highlight an unresolved issue. Ashoke Pandit disclosed, “We live in a democratic country, and hence everyone is entitled to their opinion. But we would like to tell the world today that Ram Gopal Varma owes more than a crore and 25 lakhs to the technicians and to the workers.”
According to Pandit, the dispute has been ongoing since 2017. He claimed that FWICE had been trying to help resolve the matter and that in 2019, Varma wrote to the federation seeking more time to clear the outstanding payments. “This case has been going on since 2017. He made a Telugu feature film named ‘Officer”. The Federation was constantly trying to resolve the matter, but in 2019, Ram Gopal Varma wrote a letter to the Federation asking for an extended deadline on the overdue,” he added.
Watch the video:
Mumbai, Maharashtra: Filmmaker and FWICE Chief Advisor Ashok Pandit says, “I would like to tell Ram Gopal Verma that you had promised ₹1.25 crore in 2019—give that money to the technicians and workers. After that, write whatever you want. If, in an attempt to save your ₹1.25… pic.twitter.com/OOZdkX6gSe
— IANS (@ians_india) June 3, 2026
After this, Ashoke Pandit went on to read the letter penned by RGV to the federation, excerpts from which went, “We have made a film named ‘Officer’ and for the same, there are outstanding payments to be made to the federation, associate members, and other vendors. We as a company, understand that it has been 20 months since these payments have been long outstanding and we are fully aware and accountable for each and every due to be made, respectively. We hereby request a final timeline by which we shall make the entire outstanding payment to the federation and the respective vendors. We request you to provide, as the final deadline, 4th of March 2019, to clear the entire payout list.”
Ashok Pandit further revealed that despite so much time, the money has still not reached the federation. He even demanded an apology from the filmmaker.
On May 29, Ram Gopal Varma had tweeted calling FWICE a ‘kangaroo court’, after it imposed a non-Cooperation Directive (NCD) against Ranveer Singh following his exit from “Don 3”.
“FWICE is neither a court of legal justice nor a government-authorised regulatory body , and at best it’s a kangaroo court , which by definition pretends to deliver justice , but in actual fact it disregards established legal rules, due process, and impartiality,” RGV had written on X.
However, FWICE decided to revoke the ban on Wednesday after the ‘Dhurandhar’ star sent a legal notice to the organisation.
So, what started as a controversy between Ranveer and Farhan Akhtar ended up getting FWICE, Ram Gopal Varma, and many others from the industry involved.
