FWICE bans RGV over non-payment of dues to artistes and technicians

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has decided none of its 32 unions will work with filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who has allegedly not paid around Rs 1.25 crore to artistes, technicians and workers.

The film body took this action after RGV failed to respond to a legal notice sent to him on September 17 last year, said FWICE president BN Tiwari. The association alleged that even prior to the legal notice, it had written several letters to Varma asking him to clear the dues, but he refused to accept delivery of the letters.

Tiwari added that when FWICE found out that Ram Gopal Varma was shooting in Goa for an upcoming project, the association wrote a letter to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant about the director’s alleged non-payment of dues.

“We also sent a letter to the Chief Minister of Goa on September 10, 2020, regarding this. We wanted Ram Gopal Varma to clear the dues of poor technicians, artistes and workers but he never did. Hence, we have decided to not work with him in the future. We have also notified Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association (IMPPA) and Producers Guild of India (GUILD), among other unions about this,” Tiwari said in a statement.