Veteran actress and Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) president Poonam Dhillon has been hospitalised at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai after being diagnosed with dengue. According to journalist Vickey Lalwani, Dhillon has been admitted for several days and is currently recovering. Lalwani said he messaged the actress on the morning of his post, and she confirmed that she was recovering. He also wished her a speedy recovery and hoped she would return home soon.
Poonam Dhillon admitted to hospital due to dengue
The health update comes amid an ongoing controversy within CINTAA, where eight elected executive committee members recently resigned from their positions, citing a loss of confidence in the association’s functioning and calling for fresh elections. The members alleged that decision-making had become concentrated around Dhillon and senior vice-president Padmini Kolhapure.
The eight members who resigned are Hemant Pandey, Mukesh Rishi, Sahila Chadha, Hetal Parmar, Puneet Issar, Vindu Dara Singh, Vikas Verma and Deepak Parashar. Their joint resignation letter alleged repeated departures from collective decision-making, consultation and constitutional governance. They claimed that Dhillon had taken unilateral decisions and issued communications to government and industry bodies without the knowledge or approval of the executive committee.
CINTAA general secretary Upasana Singh confirmed that 11 members had submitted their resignations, including the eight elected executive committee members. The complaints alleged that Dhillon and Kolhapure had misused their positions. Singh also raised concerns over official communication being sent through personal email IDs, saying this affected transparency within the organisation.
All about the CINTAA row
CINTAA’s legal counsel, advocate Suvigya Vidyarthi, however, clarified that the association’s executive committee had not been dissolved. According to the organisation, its constitution provides that the executive committee can be dissolved only if more than 50 per cent of its elected members resign. The legal counsel maintained that this threshold had not been reached and said the committee continued to function.
Dhillon has strongly denied the allegations levelled against her and Kolhapure. Responding to the resignations, she described some of the accusations as “vulgar” and “offensive”, claiming that the dispute began after attempts to control CINTAA members through the Cine Artistes’ Welfare Trust (CAWT) failed. She said the allegations and statements had been deeply hurtful and that legal action for defamation could have been considered.
The actress also revealed that the internal conflict had taken a personal toll on her and that she had contemplated quitting the CINTAA executive committee several times over the past year and a half. She emphasised that her self-respect and integrity were important to her, pointing to her decades-long association with the film industry.
As Dhillon recovers from dengue, the CINTAA dispute continues to unfold, with both sides maintaining their respective positions.