The controversy surrounding the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) continues to escalate, with general secretary Upasana Singh and former treasurer Deepak Parashar now speaking out against president Poonam Dhillon and senior vice president Padmini Kolhapure. The two have accused the leadership of running the actors’ body without any regard for democratic norms, following a wave of resignations from the executive committee.
Upasana Singh alleges ‘dictatorship’ at CINTAA
Several committee members, including Vindu Dara Singh and Mukesh Rishi, had earlier cited a loss of confidence in the current leadership before stepping down. While Poonam Dhillon has denied all allegations against her and Padmini Kolhapure, Upasana Singh has now claimed that the duo controls the association with an iron fist.On Vickey Lalwani’s podcast, Upasana Singh said, “Eleven people have resigned from our committee now… Poonam ji, Padmini ji, and their group send show-cause notices to those people who don’t say ‘yes, madam’ to them. Sending show-cause notices is their favourite thing to do.”This comes after reports emerged that eight CINTAA members, including Hemant Pandey, Sahila Chadha, Hetal Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma and Deepak Parashar, had vacated their positions with immediate effect.
No room to speak, claims Upasana Singh
Upasana Singh alleged that during both annual general meetings held by CINTAA, actor members were denied the chance to speak during zero hour. She claimed a member named Neeta Jha was even sent a show-cause notice simply for asking for a mic to voice her concerns.Recalling an incident involving Deepak Parashar, Upasana said, “Once, Deepak ji was trying to make his point. I have never seen him raise his voice. And he was shouting really badly. He was saying, ‘Let me speak. Please listen to me.’ Then Poonam ji said, ‘Deepak ji, sit down!’ I told Poonam ji a bit loudly to let Deepak ji speak. I said, ‘Ask the one who is speaking so badly with Deepak ji to be quiet.’ He eventually walked out of the room shouting.“When asked why Poonam Dhillon, despite a 50-year-long friendship with Deepak Parashar, doesn’t see eye to eye with him anymore, Upasana remarked, “When you join CINTAA and get a position, that chair becomes more important.”
Upasana Singh alleges media control and favouritism
Upasana Singh further alleged that Padmini Kolhapure oversees CINTAA’s in-house media relations and has a say in whose photographs make it to the association’s website. She cited an example, saying, “Deepak ji was cropped from a photo that was clicked at Hema Malini ji’s show. That photo which had Poonam ji and Padmini ji went on the website.”Deepak Parashar, meanwhile, alleged that Poonam Dhillon would often misbehave and shout at him, which eventually led him to resign from CINTAA – a decision he had made twice before and finalised a third time alongside ten other members.Meanwhile, fresh CINTAA elections are scheduled to take place on September 12.
