The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday announced a three-month exemption from the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) to the upcoming Taapsee Pannu-starrer film "Thappad". The film, directed by Anubhav Sinha, deals with the issue of domestic violence and is set to release on Friday.
A top official of the Commercial Tax Department said the film was exempted from SGST in view of its subject and message. Single-screen cinemas and multiplexes have been asked not to collect SGST on tickets of the film, the official said. At present, film tickets carry 18 percent GST – SGST and Central Goods and Services Tax at nine percent each.
In the film, Pannu plays an upper-middle-class educated woman who is forced to continue in her marital relationship even after her husband slaps her. Pannu was among members of the film fraternity who had condemned police crackdown on students of Jamia Milia while accusing the government of trying to stifle the voices of dissent against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Recently, Deepika Padukone's "Chhapaak" was declared tax-free in Madhya Pradesh even as BJP supporters called for a boycott of the film over the actor's support for the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University who were attacked by masked goons.
