After a wait of nearly nine years, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has finally cleared outstanding dues owed to technicians and daily-wage workers, said FWICE General Secretary Ashok Dubey.
According to Dubey, approximately ₹1.30 crore had been pending across workers from various departments, including spot boys, fighters, the sound department, art directors, dubbing artists and carpenters.
The Federation had been following up with Varma for around a month after learning that he was starting a shoot in Mumbai. Despite repeated assurances that the payment would be made “today or tomorrow,” the dues remained unsettled until the workers took collective action.
When no payment confirmation came through, workers associated with the Federation halted work after lunch on Monday. Following the intervention, and after certain vendor discounts were taken into account, Varma transferred ₹1.11 crore into the Federation’s account, following which the shoot was allowed to resume.
Dubey said the Federation had previously intervened during Varma’s shoots in Goa and Hyderabad as well, while a non-cooperation directive against the filmmaker had been in place since 2019.
The FWICE office-bearer said the development sends a clear message to producers that technicians and daily-wage workers depend on timely payments to support their families. He stressed that whenever a producer starts a new project, any pending dues owed to workers must be cleared.
Dubey also referred to Varma’s earlier remarks about the Federation’s non-cooperation action involving Ranveer Singh. Varma had questioned the Federation’s authority and said that if it could “ban” Ranveer Singh, someone should “ban the Federation itself.”
Responding to those remarks, Dubey said Varma should now understand the significance of the Federation’s non-cooperation mechanism.
“Ram Gopal ji should reflect on what the Federation’s non-cooperation actually means. Today, because of the Federation’s intervention, even you were compelled to clear the pending dues,” Dubey said.
He added that Varma had entered into another matter “like an uninvited guest” and created unnecessary fuss, but ultimately the same Federation he had questioned helped ensure that his workers’ long-pending dues were settled.
“So, I thank you, Ram Gopal ji. You should now realise what the Federation’s existence means and what the Federation is capable of doing,” Dubey said.
The development underlines the Federation’s position that legitimate dues owed to workers and technicians cannot be ignored when producers undertake new projects.
