FWICE Bans Ram Gopal Varma Over Alleged Non-Payment of Dues

The association has claimed the director has over a crore of unpaid dues towards artistes, writers and technicians.

Director Ram Gopal Varma has been accused of failing to pay artistes, writers and film technicians their dues.

(Photo: IANS)

The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has said none of its 32 unions will work with filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma claiming he has not paid around Rs 1.25 crore to artistes, technicians and workers. FWICE president BN Tiwari told The Indian Express that the Satya filmmaker had failed to respond to a legal notice sent to him on 17 September last year. The association has also alleged it has requested Varma to clear his dues several times but he refused to accept delivery of the letters.

Tiwari also said that when FWICE became aware that Ram Gopal Varma was shooting in Goa, it 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," he said in a statement.