Karnataka announces 100% tax exemption for The Kashmir Files

The Karnataka government has decided to provide a hundred per cent tax exemption on the Hindi feature film The Kashmir Files. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday took time off to watch the movie at a theatre in Bengaluru. Later, taking to Twitter, the chief minister hailed the movie director Vivek Agnihotri and his "efforts to bring to light the plight of Kashmiri Pandits" who were subjected to genocide in the Kashmir valley in the 90s.

"Kudos to @vivekagnihotri for #TheKashmirFiles, a blood-curdling, poignant and honest narrative of the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from their home land," he said. "To lend our support to the movie & encourage our people to watch it, we will make the movie tax-free in Karnataka," Bommai added. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh have also made the movie tax free in their states. In fact, the Madhya Pradesh government said that policemen in the state will be provided leave to watch the recently-released film. 

The Kashmir Files, which was released on March 11, is based on video interviews of the first-generation victims of the persecution experienced by Kashmiri Pandits which led to their exodus.  Written and directed by Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri, the exodus drama features Mithun Chakraborty, Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumaar, Pallavi Joshi and Chinmay Mandlekar. The movie is produced by Zee Studios and Tej Narayan Agarwal, Abhishek Agarwal, Pallavi Joshi and Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri.