Accommodate and provide mutual concessions to safeguard livelihood of film industry workers, says PMK

PMK president urges Tamil film industry stakeholders to provide concessions, abolish entertainment tax to safeguard workers' livelihoods.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday urged various stakeholders of the Tamil film industry to accommodate and provide concessions to each other to safeguard the livelihoods of scores of workers who are dependent on the industry.

In a statement, Dr. Anbumani said the Tamil film industry cannot just be ‘saved through legislation alone’ but reiterated the need for the State Government to abolish the 8% local body entertainment tax levied on movie tickets.

“Currently, a Goods and Services Tax (GST) ranging from 12% to 18% is levied on theatre tickets, along with an 8% local body entertainment tax in Tamil Nadu. This has raised ticket prices to an extent that ordinary people cannot afford them. Reducing or entirely eliminating the entertainment tax will lower ticket prices and attract more viewers to theatres,” he said.

Dr. Anbumani said the Tamil film industry had given the State five Chief Ministers, and added that such a prestigious industry could not expect outside help.

“The administrators of the various film associations must make compromises among themselves and take action to protect the industry. The time for action is slipping away. To protect the industry, a primary step should be significantly reducing actors’ salaries. A joint committee of producers’ and actors’ association executives should be formed to address this issue. The film industry, which serves as the livelihood for hundreds of thousands of workers, may appear glamorous from the outside, but the ongoing disputes between the Tamil Film Producers’ Council and the Actors’ Association has brought the entire industry to a standstill. It’s disheartening that those who should be nurturing the Tamil film industry to greater heights are instead causing its stagnation,” he said.