“Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” gets Tax Breaks

Farhan Akhtar starrer ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, the biopic on the legendary athlete Milkha Singh, has got tax exemption from Maharashtra and Madhypradesh state governments. The film stars Sonam Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Prakash Raj and Pawan Malhotra besides Farhan.

Normally when a movie contains a direct patriotic message, portraying an individual or an incident, the same is exempted from tax in national interest so that larger number of people can watch it. Maharashtra government generally goes for tax breaks if it is related to the state, but in this case still it worked out the decision in the national interest.

‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ was the most awaited film before its release on 12th July 2013 for its patriotic subject. The film also portrays the personal pain the athlete had borne in his life besides telling about his athlete life.

During partition of 1947, Milkha Singh’s father and mother were assassinated right in front of him. His father shouted ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ (Meaning – Run for your life). The film also tells about such soulful incidents of the legendary athlete. The film has received a six-month entertainment tax waiver from the Maharashtra Government.

It is heard that Farhan had approached Maharashtra Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat seeking a tax holiday on the film and both Thorat and Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan deserve credit for allowing tax exemption to the film. The film has also got outstanding response in the box office since its release.

Also the Madhya Pradesh government allowed tax exemption to the film for its patriotic topic. Chief Minister of the state Shivraj Singh Chouhan reportedly said “After a long time, there has come a film which is full of patriotic feelings and hence the government has decided to make it tax free”.

May it be on Mahatma Gandhi, Bhagat Singh, Sardar Patel, Subhash Chandra Bose or Mangal Pandey, audience have accepted biopic always with big enthusiasm.