Upasana Singh, actor and General Secretary of the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA), has alleged that she was issued a show-cause notice by Poonam Dhillon after publicly supporting actor Ranveer Singh during the industry controversy surrounding Don 3. Singh has maintained that backing a fellow CINTAA member in an industry dispute was squarely within her duties as General Secretary.

What Upasana Singh Alleged

Singh stated that she spoke in Ranveer's favour in her capacity as a member of the General Council of the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE), alongside fellow members Vikas Verma and Sahila Chadha. She asserted that her position and attendance at Federation meetings and press conferences was publicly known, and that she said nothing improper.

'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 said.

Singh further alleged that her remarks were widely covered and appreciated across the industry. '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,' she alleged.

Background: The Don 3 Dispute

The controversy traces back to June 2025, when FWICE withdrew a non-cooperation directive against Ranveer Singh. The directive had originally been issued following a dispute over Singh’s exit from Don 3, with producer-director Farhan Akhtar and Excel Entertainment reportedly claiming that his departure had caused substantial financial losses. Ranveer subsequently issued a legal notice, drawing in multiple industry bodies, including CINTAA, into the standoff.

Notably, Ranveer’s involvement in the dispute had already created a separate rift between CINTAA and FWICE. Poonam Dhillon had questioned Upasana Singh’s appearance at the FWICE press conference, arguing that CINTAA had not been informed of her attendance and that she would have required formal authorisation if she were representing the association.

Internal CINTAA Tensions

Singh also raised broader concerns about the functioning of CINTAA’s leadership, alleging that key decisions were being taken without consulting the wider membership. She pointed to the case of Senior Joint Secretary Hemant Pandey, who she suggested resisted the prevailing working process, after which, she alleged, actor Mr Paintal was abruptly declared the new Joint Secretary at a suddenly convened meeting, without going through the requisite Annual General Meeting process.

‘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,’ Singh alleged.

Poonam Dhillon’s Position

Dhillon, for her part, had earlier questioned Upasana Singh’s presence at the FWICE press conference on procedural grounds — specifically, that CINTAA had not been notified and that any representation of the association would require prior authorisation. Singh has contested this framing and maintained that her intervention was an act of duty, not a breach of protocol.

What Happens Next

The show-cause notice and the internal governance allegations point to a deepening factional divide within CINTAA. With allegations of improper decision-making, unauthorised changes to financial instruments, and procedural irregularities now on record, the association’s leadership is likely to face mounting pressure from its wider membership for transparency and a formal resolution process.