Savita
Raj
Hiremath,
one
of
the
producers
of
megastar
Amitabh
Bachchan's
Jhund,
has
said
that
she
is
'perplexed'
why
her
film
was
not
made
tax-free
as
it
is
not
only
witnessed
positive
audience
reaction
but
also
had
a
subject
that
is
"crucial
to
our
country's
growth."
Jhund,
which
was
released
theatrically
on
March
4
to
glowing
reviews,
featured
Bachchan
as
Vijay
Barse,
a
Nagpur-based
retired
sports
teacher
who
pioneered
a
slum
soccer
movement.
The
movie
marked
the
Hindi
debut
of
filmmaker
Nagraj
Manjule,
known
for
his
acclaimed
Marathi
films
Fandry
and
Sairat.
A
week
after
Jhund,
filmmaker
Vivek
Agnihotri's
The
Kashmir
Files,
based
on
the
exodus
of
Kashmiri
Pandits
from
the
Valley
in
the
1990s,
opened
in
cinemas.
The
film
garnered
support
from
the
central
government,
including
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi,
Union
Home
Minister
Amit
Shah
and
several
leaders
from
the
ruling
Bharatiya
Janata
Party
(BJP),
who
endorsed
the
movie.
The
Kashmir
Files,
featuring
Anupam
Kher,
Darshan
Kumar,
Mithun
Chakraborty
and
Pallavi
Joshi,
was
also
declared
tax-free
in
states
like
Uttar
Pradesh,
Gujarat,
Madhya
Pradesh,
Uttarakhand,
Haryana,
Karnataka,
Tripura
and
Goa.
On
Friday,
Hiremath
took
to
Facebook
and
wrote
that
while
The
Kashmir
Files
is
an
important
film,
Jhund
was
no
less.
"I
recently
watched
The
Kashmir
Files
and
as
the
story
of
Kashmiri
Pandits
exodus,
it's
heartbreaking
and
is
a
story
that
needed
to
be
told.
It
is
a
good
voice
for
Kashmiri
Pandits!
But
as
the
producer
of
Jhund,
I
am
perplexed.
After
all,
Jhund
is
also
an
important
film
and
has
a
story
and
a
big
message
that
has
received
tremendous
acclaim
and
word
of
mouth
from
the
audience," she
said.
Jhund
is
also
produced
by
Bhushan
Kumar,
Krishan
Kumar,
Raaj
Hiremath,
Gargee
Kulkarni,
Meenu
Aroraa
and
Manjule.
Hiremath
further
wrote
she
was
curious
to
know
what
is
the
criteria
for
the
government
to
select
a
film
and
exempt
it
from
entertainment
tax.
"So
I
want
to
find
out
what's
the
criteria
on
which
the
government
selects
a
film
to
support
it
so
strongly
by
making
it
tax-free,
endorsing
it
through
social
media
and
asking
Offices
to
showcase
the
film
or
give
a
half-day
holiday
to
its
employees.
After
all,
Jhund
also
has
a
subject
that
is
so
crucial
to
our
country's
growth.
Jhund
is
not
just
talking
about
the
disparity
between
caste
and
economic
disparity
but
also
shows
a
way
to
make
the
lower
strata
of
society
find
their
success
story,"
she
added.