A political debate about who has the best interests of Tamil Nadu film industry at heart is gathering steam.

Chief Minister J. Jayalalitha, a former film star, has scored recently on this count by clamping down on video piracy, cutting cinema-related taxes and providing several other sops to the film industry here.

The South India Film Artistes' Association (SIFAA) and its president Vijaykanth, who has himself been toying with the idea of entering politics, have thanked the AIADMK leader profusely for the bonanza.

But SIFAA secretary Sarath Kumar, who is also an opposition DMK MP, is unhappy that Jayalalitha was thanked. "Any decision by SIFAA should be taken collectively," he said.

Though everyone knew about his unhappiness, he cited personal reasons when he threatened to resign from his SIFAA post a few days ago. The association rejected his resignation.

Jayalalitha has also received thanks from none other than superstar and hitherto bitter political opponent Rajnikanth. At a function to mark the birth anniversary of legendary thespian Sivaji Ganesan on Oct 1, Rajni said: "She (Jayalalitha) has done a lot for us and we are all indebted to her for our entire lifetime."

Rajni's detractor S. Ramadoss of the PMK, however, found fault with the sops. In a statement, he said: "The government move to collect a levy of one rupee for air-conditioned theatre halls and 50 paise for non-air-conditioned halls as maintenance charge would hit film-goers."

The chief minister has countered the charge with a statement of her own. "Stringent action will be taken against owners of ill-maintained cinema halls," it said.

"The government is keen that the viewer is not adversely affected," it added.