CHENNAI: The Madras High Court directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to submit the complaint filed against actor Vijay's final film ‘Jana Nayagan’, which the makers have planned for release on January 9.
Justice PT Asha issued the direction after the board referred the film to a review committee after reportedly receiving a complaint stating that it hurt religious sentiments, a charge denied by the production company, which pointed out that no one has seen the film so far to raise such an allegation.
Noting that the film was yet to receive the mandatory censor certificate, Venkata Narayana Konanki, who is producing it under the banner KVN Productions, filed a petition seeking a direction to the board to issue the certificate.
According to the producer, the film is to be released in three more languages, but can apply for those certifications only after getting the Tamil version cleared. With only three days left for the Rs 500-crore film’s release, the producer said it would face great financial loss if the certification was delayed any further.
When the case came up for urgent hearing before Justice Asha, senior counsel Satish Parasaran and counsel Vijayan Subramanian, who appeared for the production company, submitted that the film was sent to the board on December 18. After viewing the film, the board instructed the removal of certain scenes and muting of some dialogues. These conditions were complied with, and the film was resubmitted.
Upon re-examination, the censor board recommended a U/A certificate. However, citing a complaint alleging that the film hurt religious sentiments, it was referred to a review committee. Pointing out that no one has seen the film, the company questioned how such a complaint could have been filed and urged the court to direct issuance of the certificate.
Appearing for the board, the Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan submitted that the film was referred for review based on the complaint, and added that it could not be compelled to issue the certificate within a fixed timeframe.
The judge directed the board to file the complaint received against the film by Wednesday and adjourned the case.