Ram Gopal Varma‘s upcoming movie ‘Police Company’ reportedly encountered a financial issue when filming began on Monday. The production was reportedly stopped for nearly two hours during the first day’s schedule.The interruption followed the arrival of representatives from the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE). The federation reportedly raised concerns over payments that were pending from one of Ram Gopal Varma’s earlier productions. The shooting was allowed to continue after the outstanding amount was reportedly cleared. The brief halt did not result in a major delay to the overall production schedule.
FWICE raises issue of unpaid workers’ dues
The dispute reportedly relates to technicians and other workers associated with the 2018 Telugu movie ‘Officer’. The film starred Nagarjuna and was directed by Ram Gopal Varma. According to a report by Bollywood Hungama, the amount owed to the workers had remained unresolved for several years. FWICE had reportedly been following up on the matter since 2017.The report stated, “RGV owed over Rs. 1 crore to technicians and workers who worked on his Nagarjuna-starrer 2018 Telugu action film Officer. FWICE has been pursuing the matter with the filmmaker since 2017, yet the dues remained unpaid. When Varma started shooting for his new film on Monday, representatives of FWICE arrived on the sets, suspended the shoot, and insisted that the long-pending amounts be settled before production could continue,”The federation reportedly wanted the previous financial obligations addressed before the director continued with his latest project.
Rs 1.32 crore reportedly paid after intervention
The total amount involved was reportedly around Rs 1.32 crore. The payment was linked to the technicians and workers who had worked on ‘Officer’.FWICE had reportedly contacted the team behind ‘Police Company’ shortly after Ram Gopal Varma announced the project. The federation is said to have approached producers Bhushan Kumar and Parag Sanghvi about the unresolved dues.The producers reportedly agreed to settle the outstanding amount. However, the payment had not been processed before the first day’s shoot began. This led to FWICE representatives reaching the sets. Production was then temporarily suspended until the financial matter was resolved.
Filming resumes after two-hour halt
The issue was reportedly settled within a few hours. Once the dues were cleared, the crew resumed work on ‘Police Company’. The production reportedly lost approximately two hours of shooting time. There were no further reported interruptions after the payment was completed. The development also brings a long-running dispute closer to resolution. FWICE had been pursuing the matter for several years before the issue resurfaced with the launch of Ram Gopal Varma’s new movie. Production is now expected to proceed as planned. The makers are reportedly targeting completion of the shoot by the end of 2026.
Harshvardhan Rane leads ‘Police Company’
‘Police Company’ is an upcoming action thriller directed by Ram Gopal Varma. Harshvardhan Rane plays the lead role in the movie. The cast also includes Fardeen Khan, Saurabh Shukla, Paresh Rawal and Makarand Deshpande.
