Media365
Kerala Film Body At Strike: After the government failed to address the concerns of Kerala producers and distributors, the association has decided to hold a protest in the state starting from June 1. Recently, the Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce president G Suresh Kumar held a press conference to talk about the protest.
Kerala Film Producers Association and Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) called for a press meet where they announced an industry-wide strike starting from June 1. Speaking to the media, Suresh Kumar revealed the reason and said the protest is in response to financial losses faced by the distributors and producers due to high entertainment tax. He added that the actor’s remuneration is also a reason behind the protest.
“Many film producers have been forced to relocate. Now, we have started taking figures every month. As per the count of this January, out of 28 films released, we can say that only one film has been a financial success. All else is a loss. Two films that have just released are going smoothly. We will get its figures next month. The loss for this past month alone is Rs 110 crore. If it goes ahead like this, the industry will collapse. There is a situation where a producer cannot make a film in any way.”
He further talked about the actor’s remuneration and called the situation “scary”. He said the fees the actors demand are ten times what Malayalam cinema can afford. “I don’t think any of them are showing any commitment to this one industry. They are paid too much and we can’t move forward without reducing that,” he added.
Pointing out the alarming situation in the Malayalam film industry, he said his association used to receive 25-30 projects a month but nowadays they only receive five or six projects. He added that many technicians are starving at home and over 60 per cent of technicians at the bottom are unemployed. Despite knowing all this, the government is not cooperating or helping their industry. “We have asked many times to provide tax exemptions for films, but it has not been given. We have no hope in the budget either. Entertainment tax was introduced in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. It was introduced only in these two states. Apart from the entertainment tax, GST is added and the tax comes to 30 percent. That means if you get one rupee, 30 paise is going there,” the producer concluded.
