'Scrap dual tax, cut star charges': Producers, distributors reiterate demands at film policy meeting

Kochi: Malayalam film producers and distributors reiterated their long-pending demands to scrap dual tax and rein in leading actors’ ‘exorbitant’ remuneration charges amid the MeToo storm in Mollywood triggered by the Justice Hema Committee report.

Representatives of producers and distributors once again raised their demands during a stakeholders’ meeting in Kochi on Saturday as part of the state government formulating a film policy.

Filmmaker Shaji N Karun, who chairs the committee drafting the film policy, told Onmanorama that one of the significant concerns raised by the representatives was the financial burden they have to face due to dual taxation. Apart from the GST on ticket revenues in Kerala, film producers must pay entertainment tax and an additional GST.

“Producers are on the streets now due to financial losses. We have been for long demanding that the state government do away with entertainment tax. We reiterated the demand in today’s meeting. Also, we raised our concerns over the excessive remunerations demanded by actors,” G Suresh Kumar, vice president, Kerala Film Producers Association, told Onmanorama. He said the producers also demanded that banks assist them in financing films.

The distributors were concerned that local bodies charged different rates for affixing film posters, so they sought to standardise the charges.

The film policy being drafted covers at least 25 areas and addresses various aspects, including theatre construction and labour issues. Chairman Shaji N Karun said the controversies over the series of sexual allegations raised against prominent actors were not discussed at the meeting.