Author and columnist Shobhaa De has criticised the Federation of Western India Cine Employees' (FWICE) non-cooperation directive against actor Ranveer Singh, warning that the move could hurt technicians and workers linked to his projects.
Ranveer Singh has been at the centre of a controversy after FWICE issued a non-cooperation directive against him following his reported abrupt exit from Farhan Akhtar's Don 3.
Reacting to the row, De compared the issue with the ongoing Delhi Gymkhana Club controversy and said both reflected attempts at exercising “power” and “control”.
“I've been following the Ranveer Singh thing. I've been following the Delhi Gymkhana thing. There's not that much of a difference. I mean, I'm saying this, and don't laugh. Ranveer Singh is like the Delhi Gymkhana in many ways of Bollywood. What is the whole thing about? It's about power, it's about control, it's about banning, it's about taking away, it's about putting people in their place, it's about teaching lessons to people or institutions. Maybe there's a sense of overprivilege or taking advantage of a certain position, without going into the legalities of it,” De said in a video.
“What I'm saying is plainly this. Now, Ranveer Singh is sensible, clever, well-advised. He's holding his silence. He's keeping quiet, letting his fans and followers fight his battles for him. The Delhi Gymkhana, full of stuffed old shirts, sitting and sipping their gin and tonics, and keeping the rest of the world out, is a different story,” she added.
“Who is FWICE? I think I've got that right, because they didn't register with me. I don't think they're all that important, but suddenly they have assumed the kind of importance to say, 'Oh, we won't allow this man, this superstar, the most successful actor in India, to get to the studios and to his work,” she further said.
“In the process, they're making themselves extremely unpopular with the very lobby they think they are protecting - the technicians and all the others who are going to be out of jobs for no fault of theirs. If it's a question that had to be resolved between Excel, Farhan Akhtar and Ranveer Singh, they could have either hired lawyers or gone to court, but not involved whoever these people are,” De added.
“What is happening is something very ugly, and it goes well beyond one lobby trying to fix another very powerful lobby. There should be no political ideology when it comes to entertainment and when it comes to the careers of not just one star, but an entire sub-industry of technicians and others who are really badly hit by the so-called ban or refusal to cooperate,” she said.
“In Ranveer's case, he is an iconic movie star. He's a phenomenon, and his stupendous success, which has to be credited to his director Aditya Dhar and producer of Dhurandhar, seems to be a conspiracy not just against one star - that's Ranveer Singh - but against Dhurandhar or everyone involved in it, in particular the director and producer,” De also said.
The caption accompanying De's video read, “Ranveer Singh is the Delhi Gymkhana of Bollywood.....same same but different... Exclusivity instead of inclusivity? Stop behaving like Trump!!! Threats and intimidation???? Won't work. Never have. Regardless who the players are…”.
The Delhi Gymkhana Club controversy relates to an ongoing legal dispute between the Centre and the club over the 27.3-acre property in Lutyens' Delhi. The matter is currently before the Delhi High Court.