Reconsider decision on strike, Vishal tells theatre owners!

The Tamil Film Producer Council has said it cannot immediately extend support to the call given to shut down theatres

The Tamil Film Producers Council, led by its president Vishal, has said that it will not extend immediate support to the shut down call given by the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association from Monday to protest the double taxation being imposed on them.

Moreover, it has urged the Theatre Owners Association to reconsider its decision of striking work from Monday.

In a statement, Vishal said that the film industry was already facing a very difficult situation and that the imposition of the GST and the Entertainment tax had now put it in a position where it found itself trapped in an even more confusing situation.

“In this scenario, the theatre owners association, without consulting other bodies of the trade and of its own accord, has given a call to shut down all theatres in the state. It would have been ideal if the association had given thought to the fate of the producers before arriving at such a decision.

“We are all striving for the welfare of the producers. But to make a decision that will affect 20 producers completely is something which the Producer Council is not in agreement with. We need to realise that we need to give time to the state government to realise our needs and take necessary action.

“Taking into consideration all these factors, we wish to state that the producer council cannot immediately extend support to the strike call given by the Theatre Owners Association. Moreover, as per the request of our members and several others from the film fraternity, we gently persuade the Theatre Owners Association to reconsider their decision to strike work from Monday,” he said.