Nandita Das’ ‘Zwigato’ made tax-free in Odisha

A still from ‘Zwigato’

The Odisha government has declared actor-filmmaker Nandita Das’ latest film Zwigato tax-free.

A special screening of Zwigato was held for Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday after which the official handle of the Chief Minister’s Office announced that the movie has been made tax-free.

“CM @Naveen_Odisha has approved a proposal to waive off the entertainment tax for ‘Zwigato’, a film based on the struggling life of a food delivery boy and his family. The Hindi language film has been directed by @nanditadas and its entire shooting has been done in #Bhubaneswar,” CMO Odisha tweeted.

The Bhubaneswar-set movie, which released across the country last week, features actor-comic Kapil Sharma as a food delivery person exploring the world of the gig economy.

The Odisha government is actively promoting the State as a destination for film shooting through its proactive policies, the Chief Minister’s Office further tweeted. “It will promote tourism potential and provide job opportunities for talented youth. CM appreciated the efforts of Ms. Das for promoting #Odisha as a destination to shoot commercial movies,” it added.

Das, who earlier directed movies such as Firaaq and Manto, thanked the Odisha chief minister for making Zwigato free of entertainment tax.

“A special screening of #Zwigato was held for Hon’ble @CMO_Odisha Mr. Naveen Patnaik. I deeply appreciate his gesture of waiving off entertainment tax. Now many more can watch it. People of #Bhubaneswar please go see your city, your actors & a story that needs to be told,” she tweeted.

Zwigato also stars actor Shahana Goswami as a homemaker, who decides to support her husband’s (Sharma) income by taking up a job for the very first time.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September 2022. It is produced by Sameer Nair of Applause Entertainment and Nandita Das Initiatives.