Hollywood and Bollywood movies are very popular in many South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Srilanka. For this reason, local movies in these countries do not do very well.
In order to save the local film industry, Srilankan government imposed tax, which compels the private television channels showing Bollywood and Hollywood movies pay Rs. 75000 for thirty minutes. For lowering the tax, the head of the private television channels, artistes, ad firm officials held meeting on Saturday with officials of treasury and the Ministry of Media and Information. After the meeting, government agreed to give concession.
I am really happy that instead of adopting any strict approach, Srilankan government is trying to cope with the situation in a positive manner. In this age of globalization, there is no way to stop people from watching movies and serials of other countries. Yet, many countries feel threatened by such infiltration of foreign cultures. For example, Pakistani government does not allow screening of Indian movies in their local theatres. As a result, Pakistani people buy pirated CD & DVD of Indian movies. It is now a big business in Pakistan. The more Indian and American movies the private television channels would show, the more money government would get. This is a good source of money for Srilankan government.
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