'Lage Raho...' eyes more tax-free tags

The film is said to have grossed an estimated business of Rs.120 million in Mumbai territory so far in its three-week run, reports Bollywood Trade.

Maharashtra Revenue Minister Narayan Rane has viewed the film and was full of praise for its content, said a film industry source.

'We are expecting the tax-free status to come in before Gandhi Jayanti Oct 2,' he added.

The film was already accorded tax-free status in Delhi and Chhattisgarh earlier this month.

The film is also due for a tax exemption in Hyderabad, where top government officials called for a special screening of the film Friday.

According to film distributor Ravi Macchar, a special screening of the film was also held for southern film luminaries, including Mahesh Babu, Junior N.T.R. and producer-director Dassari Narayan Rao.

'The film is likely to get the tax-free clearance in a couple of days in Hyderabad,' Macchar said.

"Lage Raho Munnabhai", that has brought back Mahatma Gandhi's teachings into the popular consciousness, is giving new shape to non-violent protests. The film is inspiring students of Rajasthan University to gift flowers to their vice-chancellor for early campus polls.

"We met the vice-chancellor and presented him flowers while requesting him to hold student unions elections soon," Dilip Singh, a student leader, told us.

V.K. Sharma, another student, said: "'Lage Raho Munnabhai' has taught us to do so. Let us see what response we get."

'Gandhigiri', as Gandhi's ideals are termed in the film, has even influenced dressing, as students take to khadi, the hand-spun cotton associated with Gandhi.

Teachers, who have been demanding that regular appointments be made for adhoc teachers employed with the university, aren't far behind. Members of the Rajasthan University Teachers Association (RUTA) have decided to stage a two-hour peaceful sit-in on Gandhian lines.

"We have staged violent protests for several years. We thought we should try some Gandhism. It will surely work," said Jayant Singh, the RUTA general secretary.

Many schools in the city have even done away with the concept of a class monitor. The class representative is now called 'Munnabhai' - Sanjay Dutt's name in the film - and is directed to mind the class with patience and politeness.

The schools try to resolve issues peacefully among students and also teach them the importance of the Gandhian concepts of peace and non-violence.

"Gandhi has done a lot for this nation and 'Munnabhai' has revived his importance. We have implemented a few such principles in our school and the results have been quite good. No fighting has been reported from the junior section of the school," said Rahul Tyagi, a Class 12 student who has been named a 'Munnabhai'.

Copyright 2006 by MusicIndiaOnLine.com