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The protracted drama surrounding Don 3 is making its comeback to the Mumbai film industry’s legal and regulatory arena. Farhan Akhtar has raised his issues with actor Ranveer Singh in a formal manner with Federation of Western India Cine Employees or FWICE. The step comes at a time when both sides had been silent and behind the scenes for several months in their negotiations. The conflict began in late 2025 when Singh abruptly left the highly-anticipated action sequel
I feel the production house went heavy on the pre-production of this film assuming that Singh was on board and that’s where the investment in the project went, says Akhtar’s long-time producing partner Ritesh Sidhwani of the studio, Excel Entertainment. This sudden departure caused a significant delay in the project and led to a big scheduling gap. The film industry treats such talent exits in a private fashion or through a quiet financial settlement, but the public declaration of a complaint to the top worker and talent organisation suggests that the usual industry avenues were not successful in reaching a resolution
The complaint was passed through to FWICE through its affiliate body, the Indian Film and Television Directors Association, of which Akhtar is also a member. The federation has confirmed it has received the paperwork and a formal press conference will be held to declare its official stance. This public move will make both parties rethink their leverage. The sources close to the development suggest that the mounting pressure from the federation could create a scenario to renegotiate on the project, which means that Singh may not be in line for the industry sanctions or financial penalties but could return, albeit with some changes.
The financial stakes, pre production losses
The crux of Akhtar’s grievance is a request for substantial monetary damages. Singh had requested around Rs 40 crore from Excel Entertainment to compensate for the losses it has suffered because of the sudden cancellation of the shooting schedule. The production house believes that the project has progressed in terms of script development, set design planning, location scouting and international production scheduling has progressed significantly since Singh formally signed off on the project
But financial losses go beyond what is lost in the immediate budget of a franchise film when a star like Singh walks away. It also includes the withholding of the fees for technical crews, the cancelation of contracts with overseas vendors, and the forfeiture of the normal studio backing windows. For Excel Entertainment, they acted in good faith, as Singh was making commitments both publicly and privately to head the movie during the active pre-production.
Singh was reported to have agreed to discuss a financial settlement to offset these particular losses earlier this year. But the details of that payout were an issue. The actor’s lawyer is said to have objected to the 40 crore figure, challenging the line-item spending of the producers. This particular valuation of the losses incurred before the production began was the reason why Akhtar had to discontinue private efforts and call out the intervention of IFTDA and FWICE.
Script Disagreements & Dhurandhar’s effect.
The first conflict between the director and the actor was fueled by creative differences which escalated to a point of no return during the final months of 2025. The announcement attracted criticism from the fans of the previous films from the franchise as Singh was reportedly lined up to replace Shah Rukh Khan in the series. This pressure caused Singh to be extremely careful about the direction of the script as it was his character that he wanted to make resonate with today’s action fandom, and demanded much in terms of structural modifications.
After the blockbuster spy action movie, Dhurandhar directed by Aditya Dhar, the dynamics of the negotiation got a complete turnaround. The movie premiered on December 5, 2025 and was an instant success. This success gave Singh a fresh face in the market. The actor now had a new blockbuster and he was now looking at what could be next, but only projects where he had absolute creative control over the story and the production itself appealed to him.
After Dhurandhar’s success, Singh’s camp is said to have complained about Excel Entertainment unprofessionalism. They said that Akhtar was too busy with other professional engagements and thus failed to make the necessary modifications to the Don 3 script. The makers rebutted this allegation by providing detailed timelines and documents with the Producers Guild of India that showed script revisions had been being provided on time and the project was progressing with the actor’s consent. Singh’s stock on the box-office is going up while Excel’s film schedule is fixed, and that made for a rift.
The Impending Press Conference and the role of FWICE.
Once FWICE enters the fray, the argument becomes an institutional matter instead of a dispute over a private contract. As an umbrella body, FWICE has the authority to issue non-cooperation notices to production houses or actors who breach the industry standards.As an umbrella body, FWICE has the power to issue non-cooperation notices to production houses or actors who breach the industry standards. If the federation rules entirely in favour of Akhtar, Singh might have major problems with his other active sets while filming.
The federation has said its leadership has considered the legal and financial documents submitted by Akhtar via IFTDA. Their decision will be announced in the official press conference in Mumbai Monday afternoon. The short time frame has put a lot of pressure on Singh’s crew to reach a compromise before the film body reaches its decision a public matter.
The Producers Guild of India has also been in the process of keeping a track of the situation, trying to maintain stability of the industry. There had been some news behind the scenes that Aamir Khan, a veteran actor, had attempted to settle the dispute privately since it did not want to enter the film bodies but his representatives had firmly denied any involvement. Because of the failure to reach an independent mediation, FWICE had to hear the case and act as the final judge for the matter.
