Tamil film industry observe fast

The members of the Tamil film industry are observing a token fast on 7 January to protest against the Central government's move to impose service tax at Valluvar Kottam in Chennai. Film and television shooting will not take place on the day and theatres will remain shut between 8 am and 5 pm.
The industry's contention is that the 12.36 per cent service tax on the various crafts hurts the film and television industry.Besides actors, directors and producers, distributors technicians and theatre owners are also taking part in the strike.
Sarath Kumar, president of the South Indian Film Artistes��� Association, had earlier said though the tax imposition has been effective since July, we wanted to raise our voices now as the next budget session is due in a few months and added the tax adds to the burden of the producers as it increases production costs.
SA Chandrasekar and S Thanu, the President and treasury (respectively) of the Tamil Film Producers' Council (TFPC), Sarath Kumar and Radharavi, FEFSI's G Siva along with superstar Rajnikanth, Suhasini Mani Ratnam, Vijay, Surya, Karthi director Ameer and many others are part of the event.