Following the controversy over the inclusion of a scene about the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Vijay starrer ‘Mersal’, celebs from the Kannada film industry including Kiccha Sudeep, Sanjana Galrani, B Suresh, and Chetan have raised their voices.
In a chat show with a news channel, Sudeep is reported to have said that the GST was brought into force with the claim that it would be One Nation, One Tax, One Market but in reality, it is not so. He pointed to the confusion that prevails in various parts of the country with people having to deal with different tax structures despite the GST. He added that people are confounded and are completely disappointed over what has been forced on them. Sudeep also said that people are scared to question the government and are the silent sufferers.
Yet another celeb, Prakash Raj, noted actor and filmmaker, has lashed out at the government for imposing a high tax on handmade products when the government’s policy happens to be ‘Make in India’.
National award-winning director B Suresh is reported to have said, “Besides subscribing to the opinion of Sudeep and supporting the opinions aired in Mersal, I urge the Centre to immediately offer zero tax benefit to handmade products in order to protect the dignity of a class still dependent on manual labour.”
With Vijay’s dialogues in Mersal garnering support from his counterparts in the neighbouring state, the makers of the film are happy.
Meanwhile, a PIL filed by advocate Ashwathaman at the court to ban Mersal was dismissed with the Judge ruling that “It’s just a movie. It’s not real.” It may be mentioned that the petitioner had stated “wrong propaganda about India and fake dialogues and scenes which obviously leads to a misconception about the new taxation system of India and the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 to the viewers.”