| Will
Superstar's Sivaji avail tax benefit? |
Aug
02, 2006 |
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Change
of titles seems to be the order of the day
for all Tamil movies with non-Tamil names;
the reason, Tamil Nadu government’s
decision to exempt movies with fully Tamil
titles from entertainment tax. |
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The
announcement saw a flurry of changes
taking place. The first of which
was Something Something Unakkum
Enakkum, with Something Something
being pushed as the tagline and
we can witness this in the film’s
ads in major dailies which carried
‘Something Something’
very inconspicuously. Many other
movies awaiting release are following
suite. Surya starrer Sillunu oru
Kadhal formerly Jillinu oru Kadhal
was the first of the front line
star movies to do so.
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All
the producers seem to be eager to take full
advantage of the exemption and save a lot
of their money. Amidst reports about changes
of names for many movies, the most awaited
movie of the year, Superstar’s Sivaji
has come into focus. Why has it come into
focus? Well, it is because some people have
ventured to say that the movie will need
a change of title if it is to avail of the
tax benefit. |
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Sivaji
is not a pure Tamil name! Say some
Tamil purists. The disputed part
of the name is the syllable ‘Ji’
which is supposed to be of North
Indian origin. Well, there is no
dispute that Ji is a term used more
in North India than in the south
and that is precisely the reason
why Jillinu oru Kadhal became Sillunu
oru Kadhal.
The Superstar, however is unperturbed
by these developments. (Does a movie
starring him require tax exemptions
to recover cost?) His circle has
opined that the actor would wait
and watch for the Chief Minister’s
reaction on this.
Meanwhile it is Chief minister Karunanidhi
who has been left in the spotlight
and in a spot of bother as he has
two friends on either side of the
bar - on one side the legendary
Sivaji Ganesan and on the other
side, the Super star Rajinikanth.
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As
mentioned earlier some Tamil purists
have pointed out the un-Tamil origin
of Sivaji. Some others have opined
that the name Sivaji belongs to
one of the greatest artistes of
the Tamil film industry and one
of the finest ambassadors of pure
and classical Tamil. It would be
sacrilege to say that his name is
not pure Tamil. Now it’s up
to Kalaignar to take the all-important
decision. The name of Sivaji is
unlikely to be changed under any
circumstance, that’s the style
of the Superstar. The ball is in
the government’s court.
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Meanwhile
shooting of Sivaji is on in full swing. |
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