Tollywood up in arms against GST

Kamal Haasan is not alone. The veteran actor, who said regional cinema was the ‘pride of the country’ and threatened to quit films because of a steep proposed tax on films during the GST regime, has raised a clarion call to which all the non-Bollywood industries are rallying.
In Bengal, the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) and Federation of Cine Technicians and Workers of Eastern India have called a meeting at the Technicians’ Studio on June 10. If the proposed tax on regional cinema — a whopping 28% — is not slashed, they will go on a strike, claimed many.

THE BROUHAHA
The service tax on films is 2% at the moment. If GST is implemented from July 1, it will simply cost the industry 14 times more. This at a time when losses in

Tollywood

run into crores. Said

Krishna Daga

, chairman, producers’ section, EIMPA, “If we are made to pay the proposed rate, we will stop work in Tollywood. No one will be able to do any business. Every year, Tollywood makes a loss of `100 crore and to sustain in this industry, one should be lauded. While there’s no recognition of that, the Centre is trying to put additional burden on us. Apart from producers, distributors and exhibitors, even artistes will be affected. Cinema is a tool to inform people and create awareness; it’s a great educational medium. Why then should we be under the same tax slab as the liquor industry and gambling? We are grateful to the state government for standing by us and though we aren’t making a threat, if the situation remains the same, we will go on a strike.”
SINGLE SCREENS TO GET AFFECTED
Exhibitors complain that their share will become a pittance if GST is implemented. Arijit Dutta, exhibitor, distributor and hall owner, said, “Be it in Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab or the south, the tax burden will increase manifold. The revenue will be less and this will affect weaker films. Also, exhibitors may be forced to hike ticket prices. That too won’t be easy, as single screens are already in a bad shape in the suburbs and any increase in ticket prices, in all likelihood, will have an impact on the clientele.”
While a handful of city theatres take rent for exhibiting films, in the suburbs most share the revenue with producers and distributors. Parthasarathi Daw, owner of Udayan Cinema, Seoraphuli, said the proposed rate will be the final nail in the coffin. “Suppose the housefull collections of a film is `1 lakh, a huge amount will now go to the government. The rest will get shared between exhibitors, producers and distributors. If the tax slab is increased, no distributor will want to pay exhibitors what they usually charge. So, everyone will get affected,” he explained. Parthasarathi added that the exhibitors in districts will be affected further as they don’t know how to use a computer and will have to run from pillar to post to pay taxes.
HARD TIMES ARE HERE
Baba Yadav, whose Boss 2 starring Jeet will release this Eid, is wary of the impact of GST. “We already have very few theatres in Bengal and recovery is limited. On top of that, if we are made to pay a huge amount as tax, what will we earn?” Director Rhitobrata Bhattacharya, who will be present at the June 10 meeting, said, “Tollywood is never given an industry status. If it had, banks would be giving us loans to make films. Why should we be compared to other industries then? We should all stand up and protest against such a farcical rate proposed by the Centre.”

IS THERE HOPE?
Though talks of GST implementation has been going on for long, producers are not losing hope. Himanshu Dhanuka, who has several films coming up in the next few months, is hopeful, “Those in Tollywood will have to bear the brunt as the proposed rate is much higher than the existing tax rates. It’s time we producers come together to protest against it. I can only hope that the Centre will reconsider this move.” If not, the coming months will see more chaos than creativity. Tollywood is in no mood to either comply or relent.