Upasana Singh and Sahila Chadha secured the highest votes in the Cine and TV Artistes’ Association re-elections held on September 12 in Bombay, routing the leadership team of former president Poonam Dhillon and senior vice president Padmini Kolhapure in a landslide defeat.
The bitterly contested internal battle within the Cine and TV Artistes’ Association reached a decisive ballot box reckoning. Following months of turmoil, open infighting, and legal challenges, members cast their votes to resolve a leadership crisis that had fractured the prominent industry body representing film and television performers.
Landslide Poll Outcome and Executive Committee Rout
Voting concluded at 5 p.m. in Bombay on September 12, with 571 total votes cast. Out of those ballots, 12 voters left their ballots blank, leaving 559 valid votes tabulated by election officials. The alliance spearheaded by Deepak Parasher and Upasana Singh achieved a nearly clean sweep, capturing 14 of the 15 available executive committee seats according to industry reporting.
Upasana Singh led all candidates by polling 360 votes, closely followed by Sahila Chadha with 357 votesaccording to published election tallies. The remaining victorious candidates from the winning faction included Vikas Verma with 349 votes, Deepak Parasher with 348 votes, Kunickaa Sadanand with 312 votes, and Varsha Usgaonkar Sharma with 306 votes as recorded by sources.
Additional successful candidates on the slate included Nagma Morarji (290 votes), Nimai Bali (266 votes), Arjun, also known as Feroz Khan (250 votes), Armaan Tahil (237 votes), Shehzad Khan (234 votes), Manish Kumar Chaturvedi (219 votes), Sapan Kumar Bhattacharya (197 votes), and Ramkumar Singh (184 votes) based on official totals. Ramkumar Singh stood as the sole winner representing the rival Vijeta team led by Jitendra Sabu, while every candidate aligned with former leaders Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure suffered a complete defeat as detailed in trade coverage.
Resignations, Court Battles, and Parent Body Intervention
The fresh elections were triggered after 11 members of the 21-member executive committee—comprising 8 elected officials and 3 co-opted members—resigned in protest against the administration. Dissident members accused Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure of running the association with autocratic methods, making unilateral decisions without committee consultation, and issuing show-cause notices to artistes who questioned their directives according to association records.
“Upasana Singh’s allegations are completely baseless and false. Every penny raised is fully accounted for and reaches its rightful beneficiary. Not a single rupee is used for personal gain. We have zero tolerance for anything illegal or unconstitutional.”
Padmini Kolhapure similarly dismissed the claims, stating that all funds were handled with high responsibility and directed solely toward intended charitable causes in public statements.
Following the mass resignations, the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), the parent association of CINTAA, ordered fresh elections pursuant to trade rules. Poonam Dhillon challenged FWICE’s authority to call elections by filing a legal action in a lower court which ruled against her. She subsequently appealed the decision to the Bombay High Court on September 11, just one day before the scheduled vote as court documents reflect. While the high court permitted the election to proceed on September 9 and 12, it ordered that the newly elected executive committee refrain from making policy decisions until a final appeal hearing scheduled for October 26 according to the judicial order.
Police Complaint Over Association Records
Tensions boiled over beyond the courtroom when Upasana Singh filed a police complaint at the Versova police station against Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure following a street confrontation. Social media videos captured Upasana Singh and Priti Sapru arguing with police officers outside the premises while demanding the return of seized paperwork as documented in news reports.
Photo: filminformation.com
Upasana Singh asserted that a member had demanded a forensic audit of association documents due to suspected irregularities, prompting the outgoing leaders to attempt moving files in a rented transport vehicle.
“A CINTAA member had raised concerns about irregularities in the documents and demanded a forensic jaanch. He felt that something was not right with them.”
Upasana Singh, General Secretary, CINTAA
Countering the accusation, the outgoing camp maintained that they were merely safeguarding institutional archives. Padmini Kolhapure and Poonam Dhillon’s supporters insisted that the transported materials were official records intended for safe storage at the organization’s officially registered address according to statements given to reporters.
Reactions and Immediate Next Steps
Victors expressed surprise and relief following the announcement of the final tallies. Deepak Parasher shared his reaction in an interview.
Photo: NDTV
“I did not expect this, I am surprised. I have won with very good votes. Now I just want to work for my CINTAA members. I would like them to come back and work with me. Thank you very much.”
FWICE president B.N. Tiwari praised the election outcome, stating to trade media that the former leaders should focus on member welfare rather than administrative control.
“Poonam Dhillon and Padmini Kolhapure are getting a bad name because of their conduct. They should work for the betterment of the less fortunate actors rather than running after the chair. May better sense prevail.”
B.N. Tiwari, President, FWICE
With the ballots counted, CINTAA is scheduled to elect its specific office-bearers within one week under association guidelines. However, formal governance transition remains constrained by the Bombay High Court’s injunction barring executive decisions ahead of the October 26 hearing tied to the ongoing legal appeal.
