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How will the cess on movie tickets, OTT subscriptions help workers and artistes in distress in Karnataka?
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The Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Bill, 2024, passed by the Legislature on June 26, envisages constituting a welfare board and establishing a fund to provide social security to film and theatre workers and artistes
A massive set of film KGF film at Kolar Gold fields.
| Photo Credit: HANDOUT E MAIL
Beyond the glitz and glamour of cinema, there are untold stories of thousands of artistes and workers of the industry who have little to fall back on as they age or face financial difficulties due to health issues or other reasons.
To address the issue, the Karnataka government last week announced that it is considering a cess on movie tickets and OTT subscription fees to support cinema and cultural artistes in distress. The cess ranging from 1-2% will be revised by the State government every three years if implemented. This cess will apply to cinema tickets, subscription fees, and revenue generated from the related establishments in Karnataka. The State government also said that it plans to extend the cess to plays staged within Karnataka.
These are part of the provisions of the Karnataka Cine and Cultural Activists (Welfare) Bill, 2024, passed by the Legislature on June 26. The Bill envisages constituting a welfare board and establishing a fund for financing schemes to provide social security to cine and cultural activists in the State. The welfare cess would be called “The Cine and Cultural Activists Welfare Cess.” Cine and cultural activists registered under the Board would be eligible to file a petition before an office, to be designated by the government, in relation to any grievances arising out of entitlements. The Bill would benefit about 60,000 to 70,000 workers engaged in cine and other cultural fields, Labour Minister Santosh Lad has said.
“There are many daily wagers in the cine and arts field like dancers, extras, spotters, stunt men, make-up artistes and more who hardly get any welfare schemes and are paid very little,” says Labour Minister Santosh Lad.
| Photo Credit:
VAIDYA
Thousands of daily wagers
Speaking to The Hindu, Lad said, “There are many daily wagers in the cine and arts field like dancers, extras, spotters, stunt men, make-up artistes and more who hardly get any welfare schemes and are paid very little. We decided to bring in this Bill out of our very own experiences and stories heard from the industry. I had come across a very old woman cine artiste, she had told me how during the fag end of her life she had nobody to look after her and she was also low on finances. We could not help her then, but now the Bill has been tabled in the assembly, and I am sure it will go through.”
He said that this will also help the theatre community. “Theatre artistes do not have a commercial mindset as they put their passion before anything. This Bill will serve their welfare,” he added.
When asked if levying cess would impact cinema goers or the daily collection, Lad said it would be a very nominal amount charged. “We have got around 2.2 billion ticket per day market in our country, and we are the largest cinema goers in the world. In Karnataka we have about 550-600 theatres, so 1-2% cess on tickets would be anywhere between 25 paise – ₹2 per ticket, which is very nominal. Along with the cess collected, funds will be provided by the State, which will go to the welfare of the artists.”
Rahul (name changed), a stunt man working in the film industry for over a decade, says a lot of schemes have come and gone, but there is no guarantee that it will reach them. “As stuntmen, we can access our health facilities only when something serious happens. But for smaller injuries we end up bearing the cost. Safety is still a concern. It is only after the infamous Anil and Uday incident, where these two actors lost their lives performing a stunt and actor Duniya Vijay almost lost his life with them in 2016, that our safety was given some priority. But it is still a risky job. Through levying cess, we hope the money will reach us. It would help if the government could help us get better safety equipment and easy access to medical services,“ he said.
Simplify process
Karthik B. (name changed), a gaffer (head lighting technician) and a cinematographer in the industry, says the government must focus on making the process of obtaining artiste cards easier. “There are many light boys who work under me, and for many of them it is hard to obtain an artiste card. An artiste card is issued by an association or an union that is certified by the government. These cards help with claiming medical insurance or receiving payments or daily wages on time. But many still do not have cards because the issuers expect a bribe. If an artiste is not able to obtain a simple card, what is the guarantee that these welfare funds will reach us? Even in times of the pandemic, we were given coupons to a retail store instead of wages to run our families. We do not have a strong light men’s union in Karnataka unlike other states, which is what we need badly now.”
N.M. Suresh, Chairman of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), feared that the levying of cess will only be a burden to producers. “The implementation of cess will help labourers, but will be a burden for producers who are already paying multiple taxes. Also, there is an existing welfare fund already for film labourers.” Suresh says that a letter has been issued to the government objecting to its decision and seeking bifurcation of the welfare cess and what are the categories of artists who will benefit from it.
Implementation is key
However, there are many who feel that such an initiative is welcome if streamlined well. Actor Prakash Raj says that the move is good as long as it is sustainable. “If it is going to benefit the artistes it is a good move. If they are taking funds from the industry and empowering people from the industry it is fair enough. I believe that everything must not be the government’s responsibility and all of us should be considered as partners.” He however adds that the government must make sure that sustainability is built in. “Whether it is cinema, OTT or theatre, all of us in the industry must contribute,” he adds.
Film, television and theatre director, producer and writer B. Suresha concurs. “The thought behind implementing cess on the grounds of welfare of artistes is a great move. But this has been in incubation for several years and nothing has taken shape. The issue is that currently the entertainment taxes are going to the Central government. The State government must figure out how the funds will come back to them, to facilitate whatever they wish to.”
He says that the government must streamline the process and take it through a union instead of a law being implemented., “Kerala has a nice model where there is a trade union for artists, wherever the artists perform they pay a sum to the union for every performance or earning. This helped many artists during the pandemic, the union gave them salaries despite performance spaces being shut down. A similar model can be implemented for theatre artists,” Suresha adds.
J. Lokesh, ex-chairperson of Karnataka Nataka Academy, says, “Theatre is still a struggling art form in Karnataka. Tickets for most Kannada plays in a city like Bengaluru are priced at about ₹200, and yet there are very few theatre-goers, and the teams are in debt.”
| Photo Credit:
SAMPATH KUMAR GP
Concerns of theatre persons
On the other hand, the theatre community in Karnataka argues that levying cess on theatrical performances would be unfair. J. Lokesh, ex-chairperson of Karnataka Nataka Academy, says, “Theatre is still a struggling art form in Karnataka. Tickets for most Kannada plays in a city like Bengaluru are priced at about ₹200, and yet there are very few theatre-goers, and the teams are in debt. Levying cess would mean an increase in ticket price, and losing the audience… Firstly, the government must make sure the existing funds and schemes are easily accessible for artists.”
Senior theatre artist B.V. Rajaram says, “Theatre is not a platform where statistical investment is made and profit is gained unlike cinema or OTT. Theatre is a tool to promote the language, history and culture of Karnataka. We as theatre makers are already paying tax in the form of GST, levying cess will just be an addition to the existing burdens.”
Film and theatre artiste and founder of Ranga Shankara Arundhati Nag says theatre is a social service and the government must cover welfare without charging the community. “Taxing on cinema and OTT is fair enough because they are businesses. Theatre, especially amateur theatre and other smaller modules of performing arts where the ticket rates are so low, it is a miracle that theatre still exists. The government must cover health and other services to artists without charging the theatre community.“
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