Scheduled to hit the screens on January 9, Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan’s release has been postponed due to a delay in receiving the censorship certificate. On Wednesday night, the production house behind the film, KVN Productions, announced that the film’s release is postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, and a new date will be announced soon. There is a huge expectation for the film because this marks Vijay’s farewell film, as he retires from cinema to foray into politics.
Various actors, directors and producers have stepped up and spoken out about the happenings. Director Ajay Gnanamuthu of Demonte Colony fame, believes that the whole incident is an absolute misuse of power. “Any film is not just about one person; it has 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. Thalaivan padam eppo release oh appo theatre pakkam poren,” he wrote. In another tweet, he expressed concern that if a major film had to face such issues, then it could happen to anyone. “CBFC has to be condemned here for not acting fairly and causing huge losses to the industry as a whole. Stand for what is right at the right time,” he stated.
As a cinephile, filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj shared a long note concerning recent proceedings with a couple of films in the industry. “No theatres for a low-budget Indie film Salliyargal. Censor delay is causing the postponement of a big-budget big-star big Star like Vijay Sir's film Jana Nayagan. Bookings are yet to open in many centres due to the issue of certificates for the other big-budget film, Parasakthi is slated to release on January 10. Tough times for Cinema.”
Highlighting that theatres need to be more supportive of low-budget independent films, the filmmaker added, “This is because big satellite and OTT players are not so keen to buy indie films, leaving theatres as the only source for revenue. Not giving theatres for low-budget films literally means killing cinema.”
He stated that the strict timeline rules for censors (India and Overseas) are hard to follow and put a lot of pressure on filmmakers' creative space during post-production, especially when the release of the big-budget film is already announced. “With current timeline rules for both Indian and overseas censors, the ideal time for a film to be fully completed is three months before the release date, which is highly impossible for many reasons. This has to be streamlined and should be made a bit easier for filmmakers. Otherwise, postponement of big films on festival dates will eventually kill the industry.”
He requested that the film fraternity save cinema, keeping aside fan wars, political reasoning, personal agendas and hate campaigns.
A heartbroken actor Ravi Mohan wrote, “Anna, as a brother, I’m standing with you as one among the millions of brothers beside you. You don’t need a date. You are the opening. Whenever that date is, Pongal only starts then.” Sibi Sathyaraj shared, “All the events happening around #Jananayagan release are setting the perfect stage for a massive success! Confident’a Irunga, nallathe nadakkum! Vetri Nichayam!”
Film producer G Dhananjheyan noted that it’s a huge loss for Tamil cinema. “Been tracking the court arguments minute by minute till its end and feel sad about how this issue got dragged into legal and procedural requirements, leading to a delay in releasing the film as planned. The worldwide box office loss this weekend cannot be compensated for at all. The film was about to create box office history,” he wrote.
Actor Silambarasan TR, who always regards Vijay as his brother, wrote words of positivity and shared, “Anna, Setbacks have never stopped you. You’ve crossed bigger storms than this. This too shall pass. Real thiruvizha begins on the day Jana Nayagan releases.”
Director Rathna Kumar feels that the Tamil film industry is in grave danger. “It's painful to see big films getting postponed time and again for the past few months. Stay strong, Vijay sir, and the Jana Nayagan team. You have revived Tamil cinema during Covid 19 times. We know you will do it for the one last time. Padam enniki release aagutho anniki thaan festival,” he noted.
Shanthnu, who worked with Vijay in Master, affirmed that all the fans and audience will stand by the team of Jana Nayagan for what is right. “Anna, as a brother, I will stand by you, and we, as an audience and fans, stand for the team. Pongal starts only with the Jana Nayagan release. Nalladhe nadakum vettri nichayam.”
The director of The Greatest Of All Time, Venkat Prabhu, is confident that Jana Nayagan will be the biggest farewell in Indian cinema.
The Madras High Court to pronounce an order on the Jana Nayagan censor row on January 9.