Mumbai, Oct 1: The ongoing dispute within the Cine and TV Artistes Association (CINTAA) has taken another turn, with actor and General Secretary Upasana Singh alleging that she was asked to explain herself after speaking in support of actor Ranveer Singh during the controversy surrounding Don 3.

In an exclusive conversation with media, Upasana questioned the move and maintained that, as a CINTAA representative, it was her responsibility to stand by a member who was facing an industry-related dispute.

Speaking to media, Upasana questioned why her support for Ranveer became an issue for Poonam Dhillon and alleged that she was subsequently asked to give an explanation.

“I spoke in favour of Ranveer Singh. So how did I lose my focus? I am a member of the General Council of the Federation. We are three members, Vikas Verma, Sahila Chadha and Upasana Singh. We are members of the Federation and we attend every meeting and press conference of the Federation.

“They did not tell the media that Upasana Singh is a member of the General Council. The entire media knew that Upasana Singh is a member of the General Council and I did not say anything wrong.

She added, “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 added, ““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.”

Upasana further alleged that questions were also raised over the functioning of the association and the manner in which certain decisions were being taken. Referring to the internal CINTAA dispute, she questioned the authority of office-bearers to take decisions without consulting the wider membership.

“Our Senior Joint Secretary, Mr Hemant Pandey, is a very good actor. He did not say, ‘Yes, madam,’ and gave in to their working process. ’ One day, suddenly a meeting was called and Mr. Paintal was declared as the new Joint Secretary.”

Upasana added, “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.”

Talking about the Ranveer Singh controversy, it dates back to June, when the Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) withdrew its non-cooperation directive against Ranveer Singh.

The directive had followed a dispute over his exit from Don 3, with producer-director Farhan Akhtar and Excel Entertainment reportedly claiming that the actor’s departure had caused substantial losses. Ranveer later issued a legal notice, while many industry bodies, including CINTAA, became involved in the matter.

The Ranveer episode had earlier created a separate disagreement between CINTAA and FWICE. Poonam Dhillon had questioned Upasana’s presence at the FWICE press conference, saying CINTAA had not been informed that she would attend and that she would have needed authorisation if she were representing the association.

Upasana though maintained that her intervention was part of her responsibility towards a fellow CINTAA member and has questioned why speaking in his support should have resulted in her having to explain herself, and moreover facing a show-cause notice.

Mumbai, Sep 30: Actor Arjun Rampal has opened up about his experience of working with veteran Malayalam superstar Mohanlal in the upcoming film ‘Operation Ganga.’

He called it an honor and described the experience as inspirational. Taking to Instagram, the ‘Om Shanti Om’ actor shared pictures with Mohanlal and expressed his admiration for the actor’s talent. Arjun wrote, “Such an honour to have the privilege to share screen space with you Sir. It has been inspirational. The supremely talented and gifted @mohanlal. Thank you,” he wrote.

He also added hashtags related to ‘Operation Ganga’, Georgia and Tbilisi, indicating that the project has been shot in the region.

‘Operation Ganga’ brings Arjun and Mohanlal together on screen for the first time.

On a related note, helmed by Vishnu Mohan, the film was officially announced earlier this month. The title refers to India’s evacuation operation undertaken to bring back its citizens, including a large number of students, who were left stranded in Ukraine after the Russia-Ukraine conflict began. The film also stars Bhagyashri Borse and Adil Hussain in key roles.

Mohanlal had announced the project on Instagram by sharing its poster. “Operation Ganga,” the Malayalam star wrote in the caption. The film is backed by Gokulam Gopalan under the banner of Sree Gokulam Movies.

Mohanlal was last seen in ‘Drishyam 3’, the third instalment of the popular ‘Drishyam’ franchise, directed by Jeethu Joseph. He also starred in ‘Thudakkam’.

Meanwhile, Arjun Rampal recently announced the completion of his upcoming project, Imtiaz Ali’s ‘O Saathi Re’, which also features Aditi Rao Hydari and Avinash Tiwary. To mark the wrap, the actor spent some time with Imtiaz and Aditi.

Arjun shared pictures from their get-together on Instagram, expressing his excitement about the project and saying he would miss the team. “Wrapped something very special, with some very talented special people. Will miss you guys. Was lovely to be directed finally by my college friend @imtiazaliofficial #OsathiRe #Netflix,” he wrote.

Arjun Rampal was last seen in Ranveer Singh starrer action thriller ‘Dhurandhar 2.’

Mumbai, Sep 30: Singer Nick Jonas recently opened up about a hilarious behind-the-scenes moment involving his four-year-old daughter Malti Marie, recalling an almost awkward moment when the little one unexpectedly barged into their green room just before a show.

In a podcast conversation, Nick recounted the incident involving Malti and his wife, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

He said the best part of the night was not the show itself, but what happened backstage when Malti decided to walk into the room where Nick, Kevin and Joe were getting ready.

Recalling the incident, Nick said, “The best part about the whole night was actually not the show and not trying to make anybody mad. Hold on. It’s what happened during the show.

Malti Marie and Priyanka were there and, you know, the protocol is to just sort of knock and then, but there’s no door into the stage, it’s just curtains. You can’t knock a curtain.”

He added, “Malti was very excited and, obviously, she’s four and a half, so she just kind of burst into the room. Luckily, we were all in our boxer briefs and stuff, tank tops, actually. She looks at us and she goes, ‘Oh, you are in summer clothes.’ It was perfect. It was so funny.”

For the uninitiated, Priyanka and Malti have frequently been seen attending Nick’s performances and supporting him from the audience.

Just months ago, the mother-daughter duo were seen cheering and dancing at a Jonas Brothers concert, showing their support for Nick.

Nick performs alongside his brothers Kevin Jonas and Joe Jonas as part of the Jonas Brothers.

Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra Jonas welcomed their first child, Malti Marie in January 2022 through surrogacy.