Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today assured the film industry that its concerns over VAT, stamp duty and entertainment duty rates will be taken care of.
"We need to promote the film industry which is a provider of a great number of jobs. Bollywood's concerns relating to VAT, stamp and entertainment duty will be resolved by the state government," he said, in response to a plea made by noted actor Vinod Khanna who was felicitated at the 12th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) here.
Chavan, who inaugurated the seven-day festival, said the state government would also consider making the PIFF an official film festival of Maharashtra with full sponsorship. The government at present partially sponsors the annual fixture organised by the Pune Film Foundation.
The Chief Minister also gave away lifetime achievement awards to Khanna and eminent filmmaker Adoor Gopalkrishnan for their contribution to the Indian cinema.
Renowned music composer Hridaynath Mangeshkar was bestowed the S D Burman award for creative music.
