Film industry will speak in one voice on GST issue, says Kamal Haasan

Chennai: As cinema theatres across Tamil Nadu downed their shutters protesting against double taxation, Tamil film icon Kamal Hassan on Monday said the film industry will speak in “one voice” on the ongoing crisis.

“The entire industry is gathering together and we shall speak as one voice soon,” Mr Kamal Hassan told reporters.

He was responding to questions on the ongoing crisis in the Tamil film industry with cinema theatre owners protesting against imposition of GST and local municipal tax and producers’ council seeking government’s intervention in resolving the issue.

The Tamil film icon’s comments came on a day the state government said it would take a decision soon on the issue.

While Rs 100 ticket in the neighbouring states of Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka would cost Rs 118 post-GST, it would cost Rs 148 in TN, thanks to the government's additional 30 per cent state tax on the ticket.