Bollywood heading towards a shutdown strike?

Taking a leaf from the day-long fast on Monday, January 7, 2013, called by film and TV actors, filmmakers, technicians, theatre owners and distributors down south, the Film and Television Producers Guild of India has informed the Government that unless the 12.36 per cent service tax is rolled back, they will be forced to stop all film shootings February onward. They will not allow any film to release during this period either.

A source close to the development told Mirror, "Not many actors pay their service tax from their pocket. Most of them openly tell the producer that he has to pay them 12.36 per cent over and above their acting fee. This in turn is burdening the producers."

Producers have evaluated the cost of every project to be 12.5 per cent more, thanks to this additional service tax passed on to them by a majority of actors. "The latest findings have put the Hindi film industry on the back foot. First of all, there is no guarantee of films doing well these days. Add to that the burden of service tax even before you start rolling the cameras. This is grossly unfair," pointed out the source.

When contacted, President of the Film and Television Producers Guild of India, Mukesh Bhatt, confirmed the news and said, "We have spoken to the I & B Ministry and the State Government. We are compelled to enforce a closure by end of January if service tax and VAT are not waived off. We cannot take the burden any longer. It saddens me that in the 100th year of Indian Cinema when we should be celebrating, the insensitivity of the Government to our problems has put us on the brink of perishing."

Senior producer Pahlaj Nihalani, whose film Avtar is on floors, said, "There should be prebudget discussions between the entertainment industry and the government. This issue must be resolved. It is getting on our nerves."

A source from Eros International revealed, "We are again holding a big meeting on Wednesday. The agenda for the meeting is service tax."

A producer on request of anonymity said, "All actors don't have the kind of money to bear an additional financial burden. Even if the producer is not paying in a certain case, is it fair for an actor with medium earnings to bear an extra burden in the form of entertainment tax?" In the event the Film and Television Producers Guild of India goes ahead with their strike, films including David, Special 26, Any Body Can Dance (ABCD), Jayanta Bhai Ki Luv Story are likely to be affected.