Why are exhibitors averse to films being granted tax-exemption?
– These days, if a state government grants a film tax exemption, it means that the ticket price will reduce by just 9% because that’s the percentage of SGST payable on a ticket. Compared to the amount of exemption, the hassles and follow-up involved in getting the SGST refund from the state government are too much. You must’ve understood that although the cinemas are not allowed to collect the SGST from patrons on tax-free films, they have to pay the SGST to the state exchequer. The state government later refunds the amount of SGST attributable to the tax-free film, to the cinemas from which it was received. This entire process could take a year or even two years.
Does the runaway success of last week’s The Kashmir Files on the one hand and the failure of the big-budgeted and star-cast Radhe Shyam on the other indicate that the star system is falling apart?
– Not at all! The stupendous success of THE KASHMIR FILES in no way means that star-cast films will not run. What it means is that great content may not always need the support of big stars. The failure of RADHE SHYAM underlines the age-old theory that no amount of star value can make up for poor content in a film.
Have the promotion budgets of films reduced because of the huge backlog of films awaiting release?
– Yes and no! That’s because every film producer needs to wait for the promotion of all films slated for release before it to reduce so that his own film’s promotion can create the maximum impact. That is why the window which a film is getting for promotion has reduced. And no, because the producer has to literally struggle and juggle to make his film’s promotion stand out among the promotion of so many other films and web series. That means, more impactful and, often, costly promotion.
