Kollywood's wishlist for CM Vijay: tax cuts, special shows, subsidies

Days into the new Tamil Nadu government, the Tamil producers’ association is preparing a formal set of asks for CM Vijay. The list reads as a long-standing industry checklist sharpened by a politically friendly moment: removal of local-body taxes on cinema tickets, more flexibility on special shows during release weeks, higher production subsidies, and stronger anti-piracy enforcement.

The South Indian Film Producers Association, the four-state body Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam producers formed earlier this year, met for the second time in Hyderabad on Sunday. Theatre share percentages, the eight-week OTT release window, production-cost discipline and broader South-wide coordination were on the agenda. The body is also seeking cooperation from distributors, theatre owners and film-rights buyers, with its next meeting scheduled for June 13 in Kochi.

The framing is what is interesting. The producers’ association is treating Vijay’s office as a near-term lever it can pull on, days after his swearing-in. The asks are filed; the response is the new government’s first opening test on the cinema file.