Cine and TV Artistes Association President Poonam Dhillon has strongly refuted allegations of misusing her position, calling them 'deeply offensive' and stemming from disgruntled CINTAA members who failed to get their way through legal proceedings.
Key Points
- Poonam Dhillon stated that the controversy began after some members' legal proceedings did not yield their desired outcome, leading to 'strange and serious allegations' against her and Padmini Kolhapure.
- Dhillon described the allegations as 'deeply offensive' and 'vulgar,' suggesting they could have pursued defamation charges but chose not to.
- Dhillon defended using personal contacts for the association's benefit, dismissing concerns about her and Kolhapure's visibility as 'narrow thinking.'
- The initial allegations against Dhillon and Kolhapure included unilateral decision-making, lack of transparency, bypassing constitutional governance, and misrepresenting privately hired lawyers as official CINTAA counsel.
Cine and TV Artistes Association President Poonam Dhillon has spoken about the ongoing controversy within CINTAA, including resignations from its committee, disagreements and allegations made against its office bearers.
Speaking to ANI, Dhillon said the controversy began after some people failed to get the outcome they wanted through legal proceedings. She said the allegations made against her and Padmini Kolhapure were deeply offensive, but they had earlier chosen not to respond.
"What happened was that things were not going their way. They were trying to exercise control over the CINTAA members through the CAWT, and when that did not happen, they started making strange and serious allegations against us," Dhillon told ANI.
Dhillon said the language used against them was deeply hurtful and claimed that they could have taken legal action over the allegations.
"You wouldn't believe how vulgar the allegations were. They were so offensive that, if we wanted to, we could have considered taking action for defamation against each and every person involved. Such allegations, hurtful statements, and offensive language were circulated widely.
"They had two or three, I would say, paid mouthpieces who would speak in this manner. One or two of them were also members of CINTAA, and they made some very inappropriate and hurtful statements. But we still chose to remain silent. But I would only say one thing. My self-respect, my integrity is very important.
"We have built our reputation and self-respect over decades, through our conduct, our dignity, our presence, and the way we have treated and interacted with people. We will not allow that self-respect to be compromised," she added.
'Why were Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure being projected?'
Dhillon said she was unhappy with the way the matter had been handled and felt that CINTAA members were the ones who were affected by the internal dispute.
"Without naming anyone, I would like to say that we are not very happy with the way the CAWT has treated us. And when some members resigned in this manner, the people who ultimately suffered were the members of CINTAA...."
Speaking about disagreements over the visibility given to her and Kolhapure while they were working for the association, Dhillon said they aimed to use their personal contacts to bring changes for CINTAA members.
"It is very sad that people's thinking had become so narrow that their concerns were about why their photograph had not been published or why they had not been given prominence. These were the things that seemed to be troubling them. Why were Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure being projected? Why was this happening? The reason is simple: We are working. We want to do something positive for CINTAA by using our personal contacts and relationships," she added.
'Har ek cheez ka opposition'
Earlier, Dhillon had shared a video message about the rumours surrounding the CINTAA dispute. She said she had initially decided not to respond, but later felt the need to speak after seeing messages being circulated on WhatsApp.
Dhillon said her intention has always been to work for the welfare of artistes and the film industry. Recalling her long association with the industry, she said she had considered leaving CINTAA's executive committee several times over the past year-and-a-half.
"Hum log industry mein 42 saal se hain, koi 45 saal se hai, koi 48 saal se industry ka hissa hai. Kya aapko sach mein lagta hai ki itne saalon ke baad hum log is tarah ki bewafai karenge? Main aapse ek bahut personal baat share karna chahti hoon. Pichhle ek-dedh saal mein kai baar mera mann hua ki main CINTAA ki EC chhodkar chali jaaun. Kyunki in logon ne hamari life itni difficult bana di thi. Har ek cheez ka opposition. Har initiative ka opposition," Dhillon shared.
She also spoke about the messages and voice notes that she said were circulated among some CINTAA members.
"Aur uske baad bahar messages circulate karke humein insult karwana. WhatsApp par itne gande aur disrespectful messages aur voice messages kuch members ke through circulate kiye gaye. Aap mein se bahut log jaante hain. Shayad aapne woh messages dekhe bhi hain aur sune bhi hain. Toh agar aapko woh sab dekhkar aur sunkar takleef hui hai, toh aap sochiye humein kitna bura laga hoga," she said.
What the CINTAA crisis is about
CINTAA had accused its President Poonam Dhillon and Senior Vice President Padmini Kolhapure of misusing their positions through unilateral decision-making, a lack of transparency, and bypassing constitutional governance.
These allegations sparked a major internal crisis, leading to the resignation of eight committee members, including Hemant Pandey, Mukesh Rishi, Sahila Chadha, Heta Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma and Deepak Parashar. The resignations were submitted to CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh.
The specific complaints detailed by the members in their combined resignation letter allege that President Poonam Dhillon repeatedly made executive decisions and issued communications to government officials and industry bodies using her personal ID without the knowledge, consultation, or approval of the executive committee, and also that the leadership concentrated authority within themselves, abandoning the core CINTAA principles of consultation and constitutional governance.
Dhillon and Kolhapure allegedly visited government offices accompanied by privately hired lawyers whom they falsely introduced as official CINTAA legal counsel without executive committee authorisation.
As highlighted by CINTAA General Secretary Upasana Singh, official communications were routed through personal email addresses rather than the organisation's secure portal, wiping away official transparency.
With inputs from Subhash K Jha
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
