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Much-anticipated Diwali releases like Mersal will see light of the day as the row over the local body tax on Tamil movies levied by the Tamil Nadu government has come to a conclusion.
Abirami Ramanathan, President, Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners’ Association, said the levy of 10 per cent is now reduced to 8 per cent. However, a decision regarding the tax on non-Tamil movies is still under consideration.
Cinemas in the State stopped screening new movies from October 6 to protest the levy of 10 per cent local body tax on Tamil movies. Films like Saif Ali Khan’s Chef and Dulquer Salmaan’s Solo were not screened. With a big budget movie like Mersal releasing this Diwali, Ramanathan feels that it will give a boost to the film exhibition industry.
Revised pricingThe revised pricing will take the price of tickets to ₹237 in multiplexes; that includes GST, local body taxes and a convenience charge of ₹30 multiplexes levy for online booking. However, many feel that the tickets are pricey compared to ₹180 they are used to, which is what the price has been till now.
Movie fan Manickam N, who is in the habit of watching his favourite actor Vijay’s movie at least three times, it is a huge disappointment. “I will just stick to watching it once,” he said of Mersal. Another film-goer Shaliny S said that while big budget movies might do well, small productions might suffer as many might wait for it to be screened on television.
But Ramanathan said the price might not be ₹230 across the city, as each cinema has different price structures in Chennai and not all may levy the convenience charge of ₹30.
The Tamil Nadu government had levied a 10 per cent entertainment tax on Tamil movies and 20 per cent on other language movies over and above the Goods and Services Tax. Following this, theatres in Tamil Nadu decided not to screen Diwali movie releases in the State. Multiplex Association of India (MAI) theatres in Chennai downed their shutters to protest the levy of local body tax by the TN government. Recently, the State revised the theatre prices by 25 per cent after 10 years. The cap of ₹120 was increased to ₹150.
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