CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Friday (January 9) directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to promptly issue a U/A 16+ certificate for Vijay’s Jana Nayagan, whose release, earlier scheduled for today, has been postponed.
Allowing the plea of KVN Productions, which has produced the film, seeking a direction to CBFC authorities to issue a censor certificate, Justice PT Asha said that once the board had decided to grant the certificate, the Chairperson had no power to send the matter to the Review Committee.
Directed by H Vinoth, the film completed post-production and was submitted to the CBFC last month. A member of the examining committee alleged that the film hurt religious sentiments and depicted the armed forces negatively, and raised these objections with the CBFC chairperson.
While four members of the committee recommended a U/A 16+ certificate with modifications, the dissenting member claimed their concerns had not been addressed. The chairperson then referred the film to the revising committee, resulting in the delay in issuing the censor certificate.
According to Live Law, Justice P T Asha on Friday said that “after examining the materials, it is crystal clear that the complainant’s grievance appears to be an afterthought,” adding that entertaining such objections at this stage would encourage a “dangerous trend”.
The court held that the CBFC chairperson’s January 6 letter was without jurisdiction. It noted that once the examining committee recommended modifications and the makers complied, the certificate should have followed. The judge observed that the chairperson could not later send the film for review because the authority to do so “stood abdicated”, after he communicated that a U/A certificate would be granted subject to cuts.
Censor Board seeks stay on order
The CBFC has now filed an appeal challenging the High Court order and sought a stay. Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan mentioned the matter before Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, seeking an urgent hearing of the writ appeal. The Chief Justice-led bench said the appeal would be considered if filed, possibly this afternoon. The CBFC has requested that the petition be heard on Monday (January 12).
Jana Nayagan also features Mamitha Baiju, Pooja Hegde, Prakash Raj, Bobby Deol, Gautham Vasudev Menon and Priyamani, among others. The film marks Vijay’s last outing before his full-fledged entry into politics.
Meanwhile, the other major Pongal release, Parasakthi starring Sivakarthikeyan, has also run into censorship trouble. The CBFC has withheld its certificate and suggested 38 cuts. Director Sudha Kongara has refused to accept the cuts and is expected to approach the revising committee.