More than 1,000 theatres in Tamil Nadu will remain closed on Monday after theatre owners decided to continue with their indefinite shutdown, called in protest against unclear tax rates. As many as 10 Tamil films released in the past two weeks in the state will be affected by this strike, The Times of India reported.

The Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners and Distributors Association had called for the shutdown because of lack of clarity on ticket prices after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax on Friday midnight. As per the new tax regime, cinema tickets above Rs 100 will fall under the 28% tax slab. However, according to a recent Ordinance passed by the Tamil Nadu government, theatre owners have to pay 30% entertainment tax to the local body.

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Actor Vishal, who is the president of the Tamil Film Producers Council, had said on Saturday that recently released films and those awaiting release will be “gravely affected” by the theatres’ strike. “While we realise that the GST will have a tremendous impact on the industry, we wish the council had been consulted before a decision like this was made. This will be detrimental to the producers,” he had said.

R Kannan, director of Ivan Thanthiran that released on June 30, said the ban would “kill” his film. “I have borrowed money and produced Ivan Thanthiran. How am I going to repay [the loan] if theatres are closed?” he said while speaking to IANS on Sunday. “This is like killing a newborn.”

He has requested the Tamil Nadu Film Director’s Association to intervene in the matter.

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Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D Jayakumar had held a meeting with theatre owners on Saturday and said that Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami would come to a decision soon on whether to impose or do away with the additional 30% tax.

President of the Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners and Distributors Association Abhirami Ramanathan had earlier said that the total tax rate of 66% was “unviable” for theatre owners.