Upasana Singh says Poonam Dhillon issued her show-cause notice for supporting Ranveer Singh amid Don 3 row

Mumbai: The ongoing dispute within the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) has taken another turn, with actor and General Secretary Upasana Singh alleging that she was asked to explain herself after speaking in support of actor Ranveer Singh during the controversy surrounding Don 3.

In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Upasana questioned the move and maintained that, as a CINTAA representative, it was her responsibility to stand by a member who was facing an industry-related dispute.

Speaking to IANS, Upasana questioned why her support for Ranveer became an issue for Poonam Dhillon and alleged that she was subsequently asked to give an explanation.

“I spoke in favour of Ranveer Singh. So how did I lose my focus? I am a member of the General Council of the Federation. We are three members, Vikas Verma, Sahila Chadha and Upasana Singh. We are members of the Federation and we attend every meeting and press conference of the Federation.

“They did not tell the media that Upasana Singh is a member of the General Council. The entire media knew that Upasana Singh is a member of the General Council and I did not say anything wrong.

She added, “Ranveer Singh is a member of CINTAA. As General Secretary of CINTAA, it was my duty to stand by any member of CINTAA who is in trouble, whether it is Ranveer Singh, or any other member.

She added, ““Whatever I said was published in all the media. It became so viral, and the industry lauded me for supporting Ranveer. I told them that he was a ‘Dhurandhar’ who helped the industry get back on track and revive it, but they did not like it. Poonam asked me for a complete explanation of how I went there. ‘How can you do this?’, I was asked and was given a show-cause notice.”

Upasana further alleged that questions were also raised over the functioning of the association and the manner in which certain decisions were being taken. Referring to the internal CINTAA dispute, she questioned the authority of office-bearers to take decisions without consulting the wider membership.

“Our Senior Joint Secretary, Mr Hemant Pandey, is a very good actor. He did not say, ‘Yes, madam,’ and gave in to their working process. ’ One day, suddenly a meeting was called and Mr. Paintal was declared as the new Joint Secretary.”

Upasana added, “How can you do this? You have to call the AGM and ask the members. They are not listening to anything. They broke the FDs of our members and put them in a current account. This is such a big crime.”

Talking about the Ranveer Singh controversy, it dates back to June, when the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) withdrew its non-cooperation directive against Ranveer Singh.

The directive had followed a dispute over his exit from Don 3, with producer-director Farhan Akhtar and Excel Entertainment reportedly claiming that the actor's departure had caused substantial losses. Ranveer later issued a legal notice, while many industry bodies, including CINTAA, became involved in the matter.

The Ranveer episode had earlier created a separate disagreement between CINTAA and FWICE. Poonam Dhillon had questioned Upasana's presence at the FWICE press conference, saying CINTAA had not been informed that she would attend and that she would have needed authorisation if she were representing the association.

Upasana though maintained that her intervention was part of her responsibility towards a fellow CINTAA member and has questioned why speaking in his support should have resulted in her having to explain herself, and moreover facing a show-cause notice.

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