Silambarasan's father and actor T Rajendar is known for his straight-forward comments. He has once again done it after when he demanded Rajinikanth that he break his silence on the bad impact of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Tamil cinema.
The GST has come into effect from Saturday, 1 July. The exhibitors in Tamil Nadu have called for an indefinite bandh in the state due to the possible dual taxation. The film industry is expected to take the burden of the additional tax imposed by the state government, which failed to give a clarity on the issue.
Media now reports that T Rajendar slammed Rajinikanth for not speaking about the issue. The multifaceted actor has reportedly said 'if the Tamil superstar aims to rule the state politics, he should first understand and speak about the film industry, which has made him what he is today".
Tamil film industry had opposed the GST and representatives from Kollywood had met finance minister to address their concerns as 28 percent tax might badly hurt the regional film industry. Kamal Haasan had also raised his voice along with other celebrities.
Considering their views, Arun Jaitley revised the slabs and announced that the tickets costing Rs 100 and below would be brought under the 18% slab, while those costing higher will continue to fall in the 28% slab.
In Tamil Nadu, there is a cap on movie tickets and the exhibitors cannot charge more than the stipulated amount. At the max, the multiplexes can charge Rs 120. With GST and state government's municipal tax, the exhibitor-distributor are expected to suffer huge losses as 58 percent of the revenue will be collected as taxes.
Rajinikanth in the US
Currently, Rajinikanth is off to the US for a routine health check-up. The actor has taken a break from the shooting of his upcoming movie Kaala – Karikalan.
