Jana Nayagan censor case update: Vijay's film to get UA certificate, orders Madras HC

Jana Nayagan, the highly anticipated movie of actor-turned-politician Vijay, will now get a U/A certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), following a Madras High Court directive.

The movie was postponed two days before its release because of a delay in obtaining the censor certificate from the CBFC.

However, even without clearance from the CBFC, ticket bookings were opened in select Indian theatres and in the international market, raking in over ₹10 crore in pre-sales.

What did the Madras HC say?

The Madras High Court observed that since the order in question was without jurisdiction, it could use its inherent powers to modify the relief.

On January 7, the court had reserved its order on a petition seeking a direction to the CBFC to give a censor certificate under the ‘UA 16’ category to Jana Nayagan, speculated to be Vijay's final film.

On January 6, when the plea came up for hearing, Justice P T Asha had orally asked the CBFC to produce on January 7, a copy of the “complaint” that claimed the film “hurts religious sentiments”.

The filmmakers had submitted that the movie had been referred for "review" after an initial recommendation for U/A certification.

Even though a release date has been fixed for the film as January 9, it can only proceed legally, the Censor Board had told the court.

Why did Jana Nayagan makers say?

According to a PTI report, Jana Nayagan makers had completed all work and sent it for censorship on December 18, and subsequently, on December 19, the censor board reportedly advised the removal of some scenes and muting of some dialogues.

However, even after changes suggested by the censor board members were made, the censor certificate was still not issued, PTI reported, citing the petition the movie production house had submitted.

About Jana Nayagan

Jana Nayagan, directed by H Vinoth, stars actors Vijay, Prakash Raj, Pooja Hegde, Mamitha Baiju, among others.

Vijay, who heads the fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) political party, has announced contesting the coming Assembly polls in the state, due in March-April.

The new release date of Jana Nayagan is yet to be announced. Terming the decision to postpone a difficult one, they said, “The new release date will be announced at the earliest.”

‘Postponed due to unavoidable circumstances’

The release of Jana Nayagan was postponed due to unavoidable circumstances, the makers announced on Wednesday.

Taking to X, production house KVN Productions expressed deep regret over the delay, acknowledging the massive wave of excitement and emotions surrounding the big-budget film.