The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Entertainment tax issue again

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Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Entertainment tax issue again

Staff Reporter

— Photo: S.S.Kumar

MOVIE LAUNCH: Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi flanked by actors at the launch of ‘Nee Indri Naan Illai’ in Chennai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: The issue of reintroducing entertainment tax by the State government gained prominence at the launch of the movie “Nee Indri Naan Illai” here on Sunday.

The movie is based on Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s novel ‘Suruli Malai’ and he scripts the dialogue. Uday Kiran plays the male lead, and Meera Jasmine and Karthika are his co-sars. Referring to producer A.V.M. Saravanan’s demand that entertainment tax must not be reintroduced, Mr. Karunanidhi said a percentage of the tax was used to fund local bodies and village and town panchayats.

Representatives from panchayats had requested him to reconsider his decision since they needed funds for developmental works. The State government has incurred a loss of Rs.50 crore owing to the tax exemption. “Since Mr. Saravanan said I had agreed, I cannot decline his request now, but I need to explain the financial issues involved,” Mr. Karunanidhi said. He praised actor Kamal Haasan’s expertise in donning different roles, saying that “Dasavatharam” was a classic case in point. He recalled the day when the actor called on him during the shoot of “Avvai Shanmugi,” in which he played the role of a woman.

“I was stumped to see a woman waiting to meet me at my home. Only when Kamal revealed his identity could I recognise him. His make-up and body language were so professional.”

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