BHUBANESWAR, March 10: Exorbitant entertainment tax continues to be the bane of film producers in the State. With entertainment tax being 130 per cent and an almost closed business with Doordarshan, film producers face a tough struggle for existence.The State Government earns huge amounts of revenue by way of tax. Repeated requests to bring down entertainment tax has had no impact on the government. While commercially viable states like Gujarat, West Bengal and Maharashtra have 50 to 60 per cent entertainment tax, a fledgling state like Orissa, as far as film revenue is concerned, has 130 per cent tax.
Commercial non-viability of Oriya films is a result of low quality of production. Out-dated cameras and obsolete production techniques fail to churn out good quality film reels. ``Had the money generated by way of entertainment tax been invested in upgradation of Kalinga Studio, things would have been different,'' said president of Utkal Cine Chamber of Commerce, Basant Nayak.
Ironically, of the 100producers in Orissa, 60 have already stopped production following losses over the years, with 10 to 15 others following suit. Of the rest, only seven to eight find it viable to run the show. Film production has almost become a gamble in the state, Nayak lamented.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
