The shooting of Ram Gopal Varma’s Police Company was stalled for nearly five hours on Monday at a set in Versova, after technicians and daily-wage workers affiliated with the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) refused to work over Rs. 1.32 crore in pending dues dating back nearly nine years. The impasse ended after Rs. 1.11 crore was transferred to FWICE, following which work resumed.

Birendra Nath Tiwari, President of FWICE, says, “Varma, who owed money to technicians and daily-wage workers for three projects, including Sarkar 3 (2017) and Officer (2018), had written a letter to us in 2019, assuring us that the dues would be cleared at the earliest and requesting that he be allowed to continue working. We kept following up with him, but he continued to avoid the issue. We contacted him again when we learnt that he was preparing to shoot his next project, but for almost a month, we were told that the payment would be made shortly and were asked not to take action.”

The association eventually decided to halt the shoot over the unpaid dues. Ashok Dubey, Honorary General Secretary of FWICE, says, “On Monday, we had no choice but to stall the shoot. We asked the cameraman, fighters and members of the lighting department not to work until the payment was made. The outstanding amount involved several departments, including fighters, spot boys and the sound department. After almost nine years, the workers finally received the money that was due to them.”

FWICE Chief Advisor and President of the Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), Ashoke Pandit, adds, “It is high time producers recognise that technicians and daily-wage workers who contribute to completing a film also have families and responsibilities. We do not want to stop a shoot or cause difficulties because the producer can also suffer as a result. We will continue to seek action when payments are withheld.”

There was no response from RGV till the time of going to press.

Earlier in June, FWICE and Ram Gopal Varma clashed after the filmmaker took to social media to criticise the federation over its directive concerning Ranveer Singh’s Don 3. FWICE hit back at Varma, with Chief Advisor Ashoke Pandit objecting to his remarks and questioning his credibility on the issue. Pandit alleged that Varma owes more than Rs. 1 crore in unpaid dues to technicians and daily-wage workers since 2017, including those who worked on Officer (2018).

He said Varma had assured FWICE in 2019 that the dues would be cleared, but the payments remain outstanding. Pandit also defended FWICE’s role in protecting the interests of technicians and workers, maintaining that the federation has a responsibility to intervene when members’ payments are withheld. The exchange added another layer to the ongoing friction between Varma and the federation.