Tamil Nadu theatres call off strike over 30% Local Body Tax

Agencies
July 6, 2017

Chennai, Jul 6: Bringing good news for cinema goers in Tamil Nadu, theatres owners and distributors have called off strike.

The move comes after the state government said they will form the committee to decide on municipal tax.strike3

The theatre owners and distributors in Tamil Nadu were demanding withdrawal of 30 per cent local body tax on movie tickets.

About 1100 theatres were shut in the state since Monday.

"We are withdrawing our strike. From tomorrow theaters will be open," Abhirami Ramanathan, Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners and Distributors Association.

The news comes has brought cheers for everyone as new films are traditionally released on Friday, considered auspicious in the film fraternity.

Film producer Venkat Shuba said, "They have agreed to look into our demands. We have withdrawn the strike. Around five movies released last Friday are still waiting for an opening. We will continue with those movies. We will not take new releases this Friday".

He said the ticket prices for now will not have the extra 30 percent after GST. The committee will comprise members from the film industry and state government.

The relief came after a lot of pressure from the film industry and Opposition.

The issue was raked up in the Assembly today by DMK working president M K Stalin. He said, "Top stars like Kamal and Rajini have spoken about it. Film industry is not happy about the 30 per cent municipal tax. I urge the state government to exempt the local tax for the ticket prices. They already have a tax of between 18 per cent to 28 per cent. Kerala and West Bengal have waived off the tax. Hence I request the Tamil Nadu government to waive off the municipal tax."

Replying to him, Tamil Nadu Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani said, "We are holding talks with the film industry. Soon there will be a solution. But the local body tax is not a dual tax".

The superstar had requested the state government to waive off the tax keeping in mind the livelihoods of many in the industry. Kamal Haasan replied to Rajinikanth saying, "The film industry has estimated a loss of Rs 40 crores in the four days at the rate of Rs 4 crore which was incurred per day. The loss is for producer, distributors, theatre owners and canteen owners".

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News Network
January 28,2020

Bandipur, Jan 28: British adventurer Bear Grylls and superstar Rajinikanth arrived at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve and National Park in Karnataka on Tuesday for shooting a special episode of the show 'Man vs Wild'.

The actor arrived at the location dressed in comfortable sporty clothes. Donning a dark blue jacket and grey track pants, Rajinikanth was also carrying a cross-body sling bag.

Videos and photographs of Rajinikanth arriving at a helipad were shared widely on social media.

Reports say that an agreement was signed between the Karnataka Forest Department represented by the Field Director of Bandipur and Banijay Group, Seventaurus Entertainment Studio Private Ltd, Mumbai for shooting of the documentary in December 2019. The team was also allowed to do a recce from December 27th to 29th as per the agreement, a report said.

The shooting has been permitted for six hours. "Permission for the shooting has been given for Sultan Batteri highway and ranges of Mulleholle, Maddur and Kalkere ranges. They will be shooting in non-tourist zones. If permission was given for the shooting of Wild Karnataka, then this can also be permitted. Also, no tourist or regular forest patrolling activities will be affected. The shooting will be done under special forest protection and no one will be aware of the locations," a forest official was quoted as saying in another news report.

Earlier in 2019, Grylls shot an episode of the show with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Grylls is also back with the latest edition of his National Geographic show ‘Running Wild With Bear Grylls’, where actors such as Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Joel McHale, Cara Delevingne, Rob Riggle, Armie Hammer and Dave Bautista take on adventurous challenges in remote wilderness.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: Extending a helping hand to curb the spread of coronavirus, superstar Shah Rukh Khan and wife Gauri Khan have offered their personal office space in Mumbai for quarantine purpose for children, elderly and women.

The information was tweeted by the official Twitter handle of BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) on Saturday that thanked the couple for the gesture.

"Stronger together. We thank Shah Rukh Khan and Gauri Khan for offering their 4-storey personal office space to help expand our quarantine capacity equipped with essentials for quarantined children, women and elderly, Indeed a thoughtful and timely gesture!" the tweet read.

Earlier the 54-year-old superstar and his group companies had pledged to donate to a number of relief funds, including the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-CARES) fund and the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund to combat the coronavirus.

The 'Devdas' actor had taken to Twitter on Thursday and shared that his companies -- Kolkata Knight Riders, Red Chillies Entertainment, Meer Foundation, and Red Chillies VFX -- are taking several initiatives to support the relief efforts.

The Padma Shri awardee also announced that his initial efforts will be focused on three cities -- Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi, "with the realisation that this is a start and we stand ready to contribute in whichever way possible going forward".

Meanwhile, India's tally of coronavirus positive cases rose to 2,902, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.

Out of 2,902 cases, 2,650 are active cases and 184 have been cured or discharged or have migrated. The total number of deaths reported due to the disease rose to 68 on Saturday.

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News Network
July 11,2020

Mumbai, Jul 11: Bollywood veteran Amitabh Bachchan announced on Twitter late on Saturday that he tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection.

Taking to Twitter to announce the news, he said, "I have tested CoVID positive... " He added that family and staff had also undergone tests while Bachchan has been shifted to a hospital. 

Bachchan ended his tweet saying, "All that have been in close proximity to me in the last 10 days are requested to please get themselves tested !"

Bachchan, who was last seen in Gulabo Sitabo that released on OTT platforms, will be seen in Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Bhrahmastra.

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