Veteran actress and senior Vice President of the Cine & TV Artistes' Association (CINTAA), Padmini Kolhapure, on 24 August pushed back sharply against allegations of 'dictatorship' levelled by former general secretary Upasana Singh against her and fellow actress Poonam Dhillon. Speaking at a press conference convened by CINTAA in Mumbai, Kolhapure defended the association's governance structure and questioned whether a body of senior industry veterans could realistically be reduced to rubber-stamping two individuals.

How Decisions Are Actually Taken, Kolhapure Explains

Kolhapure directly addressed the dictatorship charge by walking through the Executive Committee's decision-making process. She stressed that every meeting requires a quorum of eight members before it can even begin, and that any resolution must then pass by majority vote.

'When we have meetings, when we have EC meetings, first of all, we need to have a quorum. A quorum of eight people. After that, our meeting can start. If there is a decision to be taken, it has to be taken by the majority,' she said.

She added that she herself could not act unilaterally — even the decision to hold the press conference had gone through the same collective process. 'I cannot stand up and decide that we want to have a press conference. I cannot,' she said.

The 'Yes Madam' Jibe, Turned Around

Upasana Singh had alleged that members who refused to simply say 'yes madam' to Kolhapure and Dhillon were sidelined, making the association's functioning 'dictator-like'. Kolhapure turned that framing on its head, invoking the names of respected colleagues present at the press conference.

'And if I talk about dictatorship, do you think that senior actors, Pintu ji, Rakesh Bedi ji, who are sitting there, and Yashpal Sharma ji, and all the people sitting here… do you think that we can have a dictatorship?' she asked. She followed up pointedly: 'Do you see all these 'yes madam' people? Don't they have their own minds?'

Committee Is Legal and Functioning, Says Kolhapure

Amid swirling claims about the committee's legal status following a wave of Executive Committee resignations, Kolhapure was categorical. 'First of all, I would like to authenticate that this committee is completely legal,' she said, noting that several senior members were currently away on professional commitments but remained supportive.

She was equally firm on continuity: 'Let me tell you once again, the committee has not been dissolved. It has not been disbanded. And we are working as per the constitution.' She framed the gathering's purpose simply — 'We have all come here to do good for the members of CINTAA.'

Background: What Triggered the CINTAA Dispute

The controversy escalated after a significant number of Executive Committee members resigned, with Upasana Singh emerging as a vocal critic of the current leadership. Singh had accused Kolhapure and Dhillon of exercising excessive control over the committee's functioning and of sidelining dissenting voices. The dispute has drawn wider attention given the stature of the personalities involved and CINTAA's role as one of the film industry's principal artistes' bodies.

With the committee asserting its legality and critics maintaining their allegations, the internal standoff at CINTAA is unlikely to resolve quickly. How the association's membership — and, potentially, relevant authorities — respond to competing claims about its governance will determine the body's near-term direction.