Regional Filmmakers pitches for hassle-free GST regime; demands strong anti-piracy law

Speaking to the media, the former Chief of South India Film Chamber of Commerce admitted that regional cinema was facing a tough time due to back to back financial reforms initiated by the Central government. He was speaking at the seminar organized by "South India Film Chamber of Commerce" in association with "Bharat Niti".

Kalyan asserted that members of film fraternity are in agreement with GST and newly rolled out tax regime but have reservations about its implantation. He opined that government should revisit the existing certification policy where the producer has to wait for 60 days to get certification after filing an application.

Raising the issue of online piracy, renowned actor and politician Sarath Kumar pitched for the full-proof firefighting plans against piracy which has ruined the revenues by 30 percent due to illegal download of movies through various illegal digital platforms.

On this occasion, Minister of State for PMO, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that Modi government will take all possible steps to resolve the genuine issues raised by filmmakers. Singh mentioned that Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani will take the note of all the grievances pertaining to Film Industry. Commenting on the GST issue, Jitendra Singh has urged members of the federation to share their inputs with Finance Ministry.

Earlier actor Kamal Haasan had registered protest against the heavy taxation due to the implementation of GST, meanwhile, Vijay starrer Mersal had triggered the controversy due to alleged GST jibe on central government criticizing Prime Minister Modi’s ambitious move. Later, the hot pursuit between Vijay fans and Tamil Nadu state BJP leader once again fuelled the controversy demanding a modification in the alleged scene.