CINTAA Row: 8 Members Quit, Allege ‘Misuse Of Positions’ By Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure

CINTAA (Cine and TV Artistes’ Association) seems to be in crisis currently as eight elected members from the Executive Committee have resigned from their posts. The body, formed in 1958, is an official trade union for film and television actors and performers based in Mumbai, India, registered under the Indian Trade Union Act. The members who resigned from their posts with immediate effect have now called for fresh elections, citing a loss of confidence in the association’s current functioning.

The eight members who stepped down are Hemant Pandey, Mukesh Rishi, Sahila Chadha, Heta Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma and Deepak Parashar. Their resignations were submitted to CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh.

The members raised

concerns over what they described as a growing departure from CINTAA’s established process of consultation and collective governance. In their letter, they alleged that Poonam Dhillon, Padmini Kolhapure and some Executive Committee members had increasingly taken control of key decisions.

The members also questioned how CINTAA’s official communications were being managed. They alleged that Dhillon had independently taken several decisions, including contacting government officials using her personal ID and determining communications with industry bodies through CINTAA’s official account.

Upasana Singh told ANI that 11 members had stepped down from CINTAA, with eight of them being elected members of the Executive Committee. According to Singh, the eight members also submitted separate complaints along with their resignation letters, detailing the issues they had raised.

“Out of our 11 members, eight elected members have resigned and submitted their resignations to me. They have also submitted their complaints, stating that Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon are misusing their positions,” Singh said.

Singh further questioned why personal email accounts were being used for official CINTAA matters. She said using the association’s official email system would help ensure that communications remain transparent and that records are available to the organisation when required.