Chennai

While there were reports which said that the actor had met the Chief Minister to discuss the entertainment tax which was reduced from 10 per cent to 8 per cent, following another meeting with a few officials to obtain an NOC from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) on Monday as well, a source close to Mersal’ s unit told DT Next, “He appealed to the CM to facilitate a smooth release for the film on Deepavali. Following the meeting, AWBI which had earlier denied an NOC for the film, granted the clearance on their website on Monday, as we had submitted necessary documents to prove that animals used in the film were not tortured.’’