A fresh crisis has emerged within the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA), with eight elected members of its Executive Committee resigning from their respective offices and the association's Executive Committee with immediate effect, citing a loss of confidence in its present functioning and calling for fresh elections.
The eight elected members named by CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh are Hemant Pandey, Mukesh Rishi, Sahila Chadha, Hetal Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma and Deepak Parashar.
In their joint resignation letter, the members said their decision followed what they described as repeated departures from the principles of collective decision-making, consultation and constitutional governance. They alleged that the functioning of the association had increasingly become concentrated around CINTAA President Poonam Dhillon and Senior Vice President Padmini Kolhapure, along with a section of other Executive Committee members.
The members alleged that Dhillon had repeatedly taken unilateral decisions and issued official communications to government officials and industry bodies without the knowledge, consultation or approval of the Executive Committee.
"The President, Poonam Dhillon, has repeatedly taken unilateral decisions, issued official communications through her ID to government officials and unilaterally decided communications to industry bodies through the official CINTAA ID, and represented the Association in public and with other government, quasi-judicial and industry bodies without the knowledge, consultation, and/or approval of the Executive Committee, thereby nullifying the principle of collective responsibility," a part of the letter read.
The resigning members further alleged that several decisions were being taken without adequate consultation with, or approval from, the Executive Committee.
The letter also alleged that Dhillon and Kolhapure visited government offices accompanied by privately engaged lawyers, who were allegedly introduced as CINTAA lawyers without the authority or sanction of the Executive Committee.
These allegations were cited by the members as among the reasons for their loss of confidence in the current functioning of the association.
11 members resign, says General Secretary
CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh, speaking to ANI, confirmed that 11 members had resigned, of whom eight were elected Executive Committee members.
Singh said the eight elected members had submitted their resignations along with complaints outlining their reasons for stepping down.
"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.
She also raised concerns over the alleged use of personal email accounts for official correspondence, saying that communication issued on behalf of an association should ordinarily go through its official email system to ensure transparency and maintain an organisational record.
"When a mail has to be sent to any organisation, we cannot send it through our personal mail ID if we want to send it officially. This is the same everywhere. Here, Poonam ji sends her personal mail ID to the organisations and asks them to send it to her. She gains no benefit from it but there is no transparency," Singh said.
CINTAA rejects claims that Executive Committee has been dissolved
Meanwhile, CINTAA has strongly rejected claims that its Executive Committee has been dissolved, saying that the association remains operational and that the resignations have not crossed the constitutional threshold required for dissolution.
Advocate Suvigya Vidyarthi, legal counsel representing CINTAA, said the claims circulating about the dissolution of the Executive Committee were "totally wrong, misconceived and lack any judicial sanctity".
"As per the Constitution of CINTAA, the EC shall dissolve only when more than 50 per cent of the elected members of the EC resign, which is not the case at hand. Also, as per the Constitution, new members have been inducted in their place who were next in line by the voting count," Vidyarthi said.
CINTAA further maintained that vacancies created by resignations have been filled in accordance with its constitutional framework by inducting eligible members who were next in line based on the voting count.
The association also hit out at the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), alleging that it had sought to assume powers that CINTAA does not recognise under its Constitution.
"FWICE has now jumped into the fray and, in CINTAA's considered view, has sought to assume powers that are neither known to nor recognised under CINTAA's constitutional framework," Vidyarthi said.
He alleged that FWICE had issued directions at the behest of certain disgruntled individuals and said such directions could not override the internal governance of an autonomous trade union functioning under its own Constitution.
"The Executive Committee of CINTAA remains very much in existence and continues to function for the welfare of artistes and for the protection and strengthening of the rights of vulnerable actors. CINTAA will take all appropriate steps available to it to safeguard the autonomy of the Association, uphold its Constitution and protect the larger interests of its members," Vidyarthi said.
68-year-old association says work continues
Established in 1958, CINTAA is one of India's oldest representative bodies for actors and has, over nearly seven decades, evolved into a collective voice for performers working across cinema, television, digital platforms, advertising, live performances and other audiovisual media.
The trade union has worked on issues concerning artistes, including contracts, timely payments, workplace disputes, professional safeguards and ethical standards. It has also assisted members facing professional and personal difficulties and worked with industry stakeholders towards strengthening practices and protections for performers.
CINTAA stressed that the association is not merely an office or a particular Executive Committee, but a 68-year-old institution built around the collective representation of actors.
It said generations of artistes have turned to the association when facing professional disputes, non-payment, unfair treatment or other vulnerabilities in an industry where individual performers may not always have adequate bargaining strength.
The association maintained that disagreements, resignations or changes within an organisation cannot by themselves erase its constitutional structure or institutional legitimacy.
In a strongly worded public notice, CINTAA said:
"All concerned are hereby informed that some confusion is being sought to be created by some disgruntled members of CINTAA for oblique motives. Our Union is fully operational and functional through its EC. Take note."
The Executive Committee, CINTAA
CINTAA reiterated that its doors remain open to members and that its work continues uninterrupted.
The latest developments have put the functioning and internal governance of one of the country's oldest actors' unions under renewed scrutiny, with the resigning members calling for fresh elections while the association maintains that its Executive Committee remains constitutionally valid and operational.
For CINTAA, the dispute goes beyond individual office-bearers and concerns the autonomy of the actors' union, the sanctity of its Constitution and its ability to govern itself while continuing to represent and protect its members.
