NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman hit back at Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan’s criticism of the government’s handling of the film industry.
Responding to Bachchan’s plea for relief measures, Sitharaman clarified that entertainment tax falls under state jurisdiction and not the Centre’s purview. “Jaya Bachchan ji, honourable member, spoke passionately about how the film industry is being neglected. She said leave aside the GST, all single-screen theatres are shutting down, and there is no cut in entertainment tax. I want to clarify—there is no entertainment tax levied by the Union government,” Sitharaman said.
She explained that before the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), states levied entertainment taxes as high as 100%, whereas under the GST regime, movie tickets above Rs 100 are now taxed at 18%, down from 28%. “For tickets below Rs 100, GST has been reduced from 18% to just 12%. Food and beverages inside theatres attract only 5% GST, including the ‘notorious’ popcorn,” she remarked.
Bachchan had accused the government of using the film industry for its own benefit while failing to provide any support. “You have totally ignored the film and entertainment industry because you only use them for serving your own purpose,” she said in the Rajya Sabha. She alleged that the government wanted to “kill the industry,” urging Sitharaman to have “mercy” on it.
In a sharp rebuttal, Sitharaman pointed to significant government initiatives supporting the media and entertainment sector, including India hosting the first-ever World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES 2025) in Mumbai. She also mentioned the recent approval of a National Centre for Excellence for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics, and Extended Reality.
Highlighting historical incidents of suppression in the film industry, Sitharaman reminded Bachchan of how the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in 2020 had targeted Kangana Ranaut. “Her office was demolished within 24 hours until the Bombay High Court intervened. Jaya Bachchan ji must speak to her alliance partners about that,” she said.
She further pointed out that Hridaynath Mangeshkar, the brother of Lata Mangeshkar, was fired from All India Radio because one of his compositions displeased the Congress government. She recalled that celebrated lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri was jailed, Dev Anand was threatened for opposing the Emergency, and Kishore Kumar’s songs were banned from All India Radio.
“We have not forgotten the film industry. On the contrary, we are lifting it to a global level,” she asserted, adding that Prime Minister Modi has honoured cinematic legends in his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ address.
