The dispute between the Cine & TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) and the Cine Artistes Welfare Trust (CAWT) has intensified, with Poonam Dhillon questioning the reported decision to restrict CINTAA staff and representatives from entering CINTAA Tower. Speaking on September 29, Dhillon said security personnel were deployed at the premises and alleged that CINTAA employees as well as members of its elected executive committee were prevented from accessing the association’s office.The latest disagreement comes amid a larger dispute over CINTAA’s administration and election process. The association held fresh elections on September 12 after a series of resignations from its Executive Committee. A court had allowed the election to proceed while making its outcome subject to the ongoing legal proceedings.
Poonam Dhillon questions CAWT over CINTAA Tower access
Speaking to ANI about the situation, Dhillon alleged that CINTAA had received an email stating that CAWT was the actual owner of CINTAA Tower and that CINTAA staff and elected representatives would not be allowed to enter the premises.“Today was a strange day. A few days ago, we received an email saying that CAWT is the actual owner of this building. Although CINTAA members built this building and CAWT itself was built by CINTAA members, they wanted to control it so much that they said CINTAA staff cannot enter, we, the elected members of the EC, cannot enter, and no one can come up. We were quite shocked,” she said, as quoted by ANI.Dhillon also questioned the basis for preventing CINTAA employees from accessing the organisation’s office, arguing that the staff members work for CINTAA and not CAWT.The News Mill reported that several security personnel were deployed at the tower amid the dispute, with CINTAA members and staff gathering at the premises.
Poonam Dhillon claims CINTAA contributed Rs 6 crore towards construction
Dhillon further claimed that CINTAA had contributed Rs 6 crore to CAWT when the trust was short of funds during the construction of the tower. According to Dhillon, the financial arrangement came with conditions concerning the use of the building, including a common office space for CAWT and CINTAA and welfare activities for CINTAA members.“CINTAA had given them a big amount of Rs 6 crore because they were short of funds to build this tower. At that time, the conditions were that there would be a common office for CAWT and CINTAA, where the office staff would be based. There were many other conditions as well, but this was one of them. They were supposed to carry out welfare activities for CINTAA members, and all those things were agreed upon,” she said.These are Dhillon’s claims about the funding and the terms of the arrangement. The present dispute centres in part on the respective rights and authority of CINTAA and CAWT over the premises.
‘Who is CAWT to throw our staff out of their jobs?’ asks Poonam Dhillon
Dhillon questioned CAWT’s authority to prevent CINTAA employees from entering the workplace.“Who is CAWT to throw our staff out of their jobs? They are not your employees; they are employees of CINTAA. How can you stop them?” she asked.The disagreement also involved other CINTAA members, including Deepak Qazir Kejriwal and Abhay Bhargav, who were present during the discussions at the tower.
CINTAA member Deepak Qazir Kejriwal refers to access notice
Kejriwal spoke about a notice that he said concerned access to CINTAA Tower. According to him, the initial communication stated that CINTAA members could not enter the premises, before the wording was changed to refer specifically to staff.“Today, our purpose of coming here is that we got a notice in which it was said that CINTAA members cannot come to CINTAA Tower. Later, they removed it and said that staff cannot come… No court has passed whether someone can come or not…” he said.Footage from the premises showed CINTAA members and staff gathered at the office, with heated exchanges taking place as the disagreement unfolded.
CINTAA Tower dispute comes amid leadership and election row
The latest CAWT-CINTAA disagreement follows months of internal turmoil within the actors’ association.In August, 11 CINTAA members resigned, including eight elected Executive Committee members. The resignations came with allegations that key decisions were being taken without adequate consultation and that the association’s functioning lacked collective decision-making. Dhillon and senior vice-president Padmini Kolhapure rejected the allegations.The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) subsequently called fresh CINTAA elections for September 12. Dhillon’s faction challenged the election process in court, but the court allowed the poll to proceed, with the outcome subject to the result of the ongoing legal proceedings.The September 12 election was subsequently held, with reports stating that Upasana Singh and her group won the fresh election round. Dhillon and her faction had said they did not recognise the poll.Against this backdrop, the latest dispute over access to CINTAA Tower adds another development to the ongoing disagreement involving the association, its office-bearers and CAWT.
