Jana Nayagan censor row: Madras High Court reserves order on CBFC appeal against Vijay's final film over U/A certificate

The Madras High Court on Tuesday reserved its order on the censor board's appeal against a single-judge direction to grant U/A certificate to Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan. A bench of Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arun Murugan heard the appeal, after the Supreme Court had on January 15 asked the Madras HC to decide on the plea on January 20, and reserved its order.

The apex court had refused to entertain the plea filed by the producer of Jana Nayagan, challenging an interim order of the Madras High Court that stayed a single-judge direction to grant censor board clearance to the movie. On January 9, the division bench of the Madras High Court stayed a single judge’s order directing the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to immediately grant a censor certificate to Jana Nayagan', leaving the fate of actor-turned-politician Vijay's film, which has drawn attention for its political overtones, in limbo. 

Vijay recently launched his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Jana Nayagan, which is widely publicised as Vijay’s final film before his full-fledged entry into politics, was slated for a Pongal release on January 9. However, the film ran into last-minute hurdles after the CBFC did not issue certification on time.

Directed by H. Vinoth, Jana Nayagan also features Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Prakash Raj, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, and Priyamani in key roles. The high-octane political action drama focuses on a common man's rise as a people's leader against systemic corruption. Backed by KVN Productions under producer Venkat K. Narayana, the film is dubbed Jan Neta in Hindi. Its release has now been indefinitely delayed due to censorship issues.

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