'pha' pronounced like english 'f' ?

[Terrence Brannon]

My Indian colleagues were saying that 'ph' is just like 'f' in
English... but I was insisting that it had to 'pa' with breath behind
it.

They speak Hindi, not Sanskrit.

How is 'pha' pronounced?

[Adolf VishNu Shaastrii]

You are correct; प and फ are both "p" sounds. They are confusing the special Hindi character फ़ which is an 'f' sound; this letter was invented for foreign loan words such as फ़ोटो, फ़ौज (Perso-Arabic loanword for 'army') इत्यादि ।