The Film Federation of India has called for a country wide bandh on Feb 23 for the film industry. This move is in line to protest the government’s decision to entail the service tax on the industry.

Apparently, the film industry is already burdened with a number of taxes and this added service tax will not do anything to lighten the saddle on the industry. Last month in Chennai, the film association had a meeting to discuss the same and also object the verdict. In fact, the Film Producer's Guild had suggested they go on an indefinite strike but the Film Federation of India suggested only a daylong one.

Supran Sen, secretary general, FFI, said, "This is a token strike where we propose to keep the theatres closed for a day, just to show our solidarity. If it doesn't work, we will take a decision whether we should go on an indefinite strike."

Trade analyst Amod Mehra also added that taxes imposed greatly affect the budget of a film. "As it is the industry is burdened with entertainment tax, how will films recover money at this rate? Big films made with a budget of about Rs 30-80 crore will end up paying a big chunk of their budget. It will also hit smaller films and regional films badly," he said.