'The Kashmir Files': Amitabh Bachchan's 'Jhund' producer questions government on how films are declared tax-free

Vivek Agnihotri's film 'The Kashmir Files', starring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumaar among others, has been applauded by the audience and the critics for its portrayal of the horrific tragedy that happened in the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s. Based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley, the film has been declared tax-free in multiple states like Karnataka, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Haryana, Gujarat, and Uttarakhand.

Now, Savita Raj Hiremath, one of the producers of Amitabh Bachchan-led sports drama 'Jhund' which was released on March 4, a week prior to 'The Kashmir Files', has said that she is 'perplexed' as to why her film was not granted the tax-free status. She took to her Facebook on Friday, March 18, and expressed her thoughts about the same.

"I recently watched Kashmir files and as the story of Kashmiri Pandits exodus its heartbreaking and is a story that needed to be told. It is a good voice for Kashmiri Pandits..!! But as the producer of JHUND I am perplexed. After all Jhund is also an important film and has a story and a Big Message that has received tremendous acclaim and word of mouth from audience," she wrote.

Savita questioned the government criterion for making 'The Kashmir Files' tax-free as she continued in her post, "So I want to find out what's the criterion on which govt selects a film to support it so strongly by making tax free, endorsing it through social media and asking Offices to showcase the film or give half day holiday to its employees."

Concluding her post, she added that 'Jhund' too is based on a subject 'crucial to our country's growth' as she wrote, "After all jhund also has a subject that is so crucial to our country's growth..jhund is not just talking about the disparity between caste and economic disparity but also shows a way to make the lower strata of society find their success story."

READ | 'The Kashmir Files': 5 reasons why Vivek Agnihotri's film has emerged as a box-office success

For the unversed, Amitabh Bachchan portrays the character Vijay Borade in 'Jhund', which is based on the life of a sports teacher Vijay Barse who founded an NGO called Slum Soccer that aims to change the life of underprivileged children through football. The film marks the Bollywood debut of its director Nagraj Popatrao Manjule who helmed the Marathi blockbuster 'Sairat' in 2016.