FM Sitharaman Lashes Back to Jaya Bachchan

Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan's accusations that the government was neglecting the film industry were rebutted by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who cited the mistreatment of the industry during the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which her party supported.

Sitharaman made reference to the 2020 demolition of actor Kangana Ranaut's property, saying, "Ranaut was intimidated by the MVA Govt, her alliance partner, in Mumbai in September 2020. demolished her office with a 24-hour notice before the Bombay High Court stepped in.

The finance minister responded to the Rajya Sabha debate by saying, "Jaya Bachchan should be talking to her alliance parties about how the film industry is being ignored, how they are being put to suffering."

Sitharaman brought up past cases of mistreatment in the film industry, reminding Bachchan of incidents involving prominent figures. "I don't need to go back to discussing how Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar's brother, couldn't even work at All India Radio." He was fired because he wasn't composing or singing to please Congress. Majrooh Sultanpuri was imprisoned in 1949, and Dev Anand was threatened for not supporting the emergency. And Kishore Kumar was also released from jail."

Jaya Bachchan had previously urged the government to "show mercy" to the film industry, warning that rising costs and declining attendance in cinemas were driving single-screen theaters out of business. "Perhaps you want to kill this industry altogether," she said during the general discussion on the Union Budget 2025-26 in the Rajya Sabha.

Sitharaman clarified that the Center does not impose the entertainment tax in response to Bachchan's concerns. "There is no entertainment tax imposed by the Union Government. It was previously levied by state governments and is now incorporated into GST. "State governments can still enact laws on entertainment taxes because it is a state subject," she explained.

Sitharaman stated that the GST on movie tickets had actually been reduced. "Prior to GST, taxes on entertainment services averaged around 30%, with some states imposing entertainment taxes of up to 100% on movie tickets." Following multiple GST Council discussions, we reduced GST on movie tickets in 2018. Tickets under ₹100 are now taxed at 12%, down from 18%, and tickets over ₹100 are now subject to 18% GST, down from 28%.

Sitharaman also denied Bachchan's assertion that the rising cost of movies had caused people to stop watching them. "Disney+ Hotstar currently has 400 million active users," she said, highlighting the expansion of India's OTT sector and characterizing it as a game changer in the entertainment industry. "Netflix has over 3 million paid subscribers, while Amazon Prime Video has 4.4 million. According to an EY report, India's OTT market is expected to reach $12.5 billion by 2030, with 448 million OTT viewers currently—second only to China."