Can Kamal Haasan and CM Vijay Join Forces to Save Tamil Cinema?
Veteran actor-politician Kamal Haasan recently met with Tamil Nadu’s newly elected Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay, to address the mounting struggles facing Kollywood. Following Vijay’s historic election victory and recent trust vote, Kamal Haasan visited the star-turned-politician to congratulate him and advocate for the film fraternity. Emphasizing that cinema is a core cultural identity for the state rather than just a business, Haasan handed over a crucial list of six strategic demands. He noted that government intervention is now desperately needed to protect theater owners, producers, and audiences from rising economic pressures.
To revive the industry, Haasan’s proposal highlights key policy shifts that could reshape how Tamil movies are made and watched.
The six major demands include:
A Government OTT Platform: Launching a state-run streaming service dedicated to promoting indie films and documentaries.
Tax Relief: Abolishing the Local Body Entertainment Tax to lighten the financial burden on theaters.
Real-Time Anti-Piracy: Creating a specialized police cyber-crime unit to take down online piracy instantly.
More Daily Screenings: Allowing theaters to run five shows a day to boost box office revenue.
Strict Streaming Windows: Mandating a fixed 8-week gap between a movie’s theater release and its digital debut.
Shooting Subsidies: Offering a 10% financial incentive for productions that shoot over half of their project within Tamil Nadu.
