Lyca not to take up new projects in Tamil till tax row ends

Lyca Productions, currently producing superstar Rajinikanth starrer "2.0" among others, today said it would not go ahead with future projects in Tamil if there was no clarity on the tax structure for the cinema industry in Tamil Nadu.
The production house made the statement amid the three-day old indefinite shutdown by cinema theatres in the state opposing 30 per cent local body tax imposed in addition to the GST.
"We will not go ahead with any future projects in Tamil till we have a clarity on the tax structure. Our existing projects will go on. I am talking about future projects", Creative Head Raju Mahalingam told reporters here.

Lyca Productions, part of UK-based Lyca Group is producing several films including the magnum opus 2.0 which has Rajinikanth in the lead role.
"Now we are doing 2.0 (film) with Rajini sir in the lead. Then we have Sabash Naidu with Kamal Hassan sir in the lead. We are also doing Vada Chennai with Dhanush in the lead", he said.
Responding to a query whether the taxation issue would pose a hurdle in the release of 2.0, he said, "I think the issue will get sorted out soon. We are planning to release it on January 25. We have got quite a long time".

On the status of 2.0, he said the shooting was over and the currently post-production work was on.

"Shooting is over. Now, VFX work is going on. Otherwise, everything is on track. It has been made at a whopping budget of Rs 400 crore. We are planning to release on January 25 (2018)", he said.
Apart from Rajinikanth, the movie "2.0" has Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, actress Amy Jackson and others.
The movie is directed by Shankar with music scored by double oscar winner A R Rahman.