New Delhi: The Madras High Court’s stay on the release of actor-turned-politician Vijay’s farewell movie Jana Nayagan has created a stir within the Tamil Nadu film fraternity. Tamil film critic Sana argued that there is nothing controversial in the movie’s trailer, and the controversy may have to do with Vijay’s political career with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
“Maybe because Vijay has now entered politics, there is an intention to put some kind of pressure on him, and that pressure is being applied through this particular film,” she told ThePrint. “Because of such pressures, it becomes difficult to focus completely on politics, and that could also be one of the reasons why Vijay might have said he is quitting cinema. After all, Jana Nayagan is being projected as his last film.”
On Friday, the Chief Justice-led division bench of the court stayed an earlier order passed by Justice PT Asha asking the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant the U/A certificate to Jana Nayagan.
Senior entertainment journalist Latha Srinivasan argued that the targeting of Vijay’s Jana Nayagan by the CBFC is “unprecedented.”
“It’s the first instance where the censor certificate issued to a film was later revoked. This has never happened in the history of Indian cinema. This sets a bad precedent,” she told ThePrint.
Srinivasan is clear that the controversy surrounding Jana Nayagan is due to Vijay’s political ambitions.
“Most of his fans have joined his political party (TVK) as cadres. So it’s very clear that his film Jana Nayagan is a soft political power that he’s using to convey his political messaging. He cannot go and campaign in every village. But Jana Nayagan is a form of campaigning, and it will reach everyone,” she said.
She added that producers are now wondering if they should start applying for a censor certificate months before the film’s release, but are worried that it would increase the production cost of the film.
Sana, however, argued that people must learn to separate politics and cinema.
“As far as Jana Nayagan is concerned, Vijay is not acting as a political leader in this movie, but as a cinema actor. So the film should simply be watched from that perspective and given censor clearance accordingly,” she added.
Not everyone in the film industry is certain about the reason behind the controversial stay.
“Jana Nayagan’s team and actor Vijay haven’t opened up about their issue. Without their statement, we can’t know what problem surrounds the release,” R Panneerselvam, owner of the popular Rohini Silver Screens, told ThePrint.
The Tamil Nadu Theatre Association (TNTA) was expecting Jana Nayagan’s release to coincide with another major film, Parasakthi, but that won’t be happening now. Parasakthi, a historical political action drama starring Sivakarthikeyan in his 25th film, will now release on Saturday, while the release date of Vijay’s film will be decided on 21 January, when the High Court will next hear the matter. Vijay’s team has decided to move the Supreme Court on Monday to seek an early release of the film.
TNTA president Tirupur Subramanian dismissed claims that Vijay’s political affiliation has anything to do with the release’s postponement.
“I don’t know if there is a political controversy. The censor board is a separate institution. It is not related to the central government,” Subramanian told ThePrint.
He added that it was not the first instance a film had been delayed due to censorship issues.
“Many such films have been released late due to censorship problems. Sometimes, they have been released after 2–3 weeks,” Subramanian said.
Even Vijay’s films have faced similar issues in the past, as noted by Sana.
“Right from the beginning, when he did Pudhiya Geethai, there were issues related to the title itself. When Thennavanwas released, it faced major problems. Even Kaavalan did not release smoothly in Tamil Nadu at first; it was released earlier in Bengaluru, where many Vijay fans travelled to watch the first-day, first show.”
For Sana, the concern isn’t whether the CBFC had any problem with the content of the film, but the manner in which it approached the issue.
“If the censor board considers something unacceptable and asks for changes, that is understandable and acceptable. But if pressure is applied purely through political means, then I don’t think that is the right way to handle it,” she said.
The constant delay and changes are also affecting fans, who are relieved to know that the film’s release has only been postponed.
“Fans have been dealing with a lot of confusion. Ideally, instead of approaching the Censor Board at the last minute, this could have been planned earlier. Since it was known that this was his last film, they could have anticipated that such tension and issues might arise and taken precautions from the production side in advance,” Sana said.
Tamil director-screenwriter Ajay R Gnanamuthu, in a post on X, criticised the delay and called it an “absolute misuse of power”.
“Any film is not just about one person; it has hundreds and hundreds of people’s efforts and money involved for a film to reach the screens. All strength to the team. It’s a Thalapathy’s film and his farewell film, and we will celebrate it like never before whenever it releases,” Gnanamuthu wrote.
Other members of the Tamil Nadu film industry stepped up to extend their support to Vijay. Actor Silambarasan TR expressed his support, saying, “Dear @actorvijay anna, setbacks have never stopped you. You’ve crossed bigger storms than this. This too shall pass. Real Thiruvizha begins on the day #Jananayagan releases.”
(Edited by Prashant Dixit)