National award winning Tamil film Kaakka Muttai seems to have broken linguistic barriers and won the support of the Karnataka government as well.
The critically acclaimed film, which has released in 12 multiplexes across Karnataka, has become the first non-Kannada film to be granted entertainment tax exemption by the State government in the last six years. According to officials in the Department of Finance, Paa, directed by R. Balki and starring Amitabh Bachchan released in 2009, was the last film that enjoyed this benefit.
Kaakka Muttai, which was adjudged the best Children’s Film at the national awards, is director M. Manikandan’s debut film. Acclaimed internationally, the film is based on the adventure of two street children on their quest to grab their first bite of pizza. The two child stars from the film, Vignesh and Ramesh, also bagged the Best Child Artiste Award. Sources in the Finance Department told The Hindu that the decision was taken, following a request from the producers of the film seeking entertainment tax exemption. The request was examined and exempted from levy of entertainment tax for six months subject to the production of certificate from the competent authority that it is an educational film, a senior official said.
The Kannada film industry has welcomed the government’s gesture. Award-winning filmmaker B. Suresh said that, besides winning prestigious awards at the national level, Kaakka Muttai , which broke the traditional film grammar, also performed phenomenally at the box-office. “This is the best thing that can happen to a film and a filmmaker, he said.
P. Sheshadri said: “with this more people can watch the film, which created curiosity because of its distinct content. I hope neighbouring States will also offer similar gesture for Kannada films. The film made a mark as one of the most entertaining children’s films, besides being thought provoking.”
