Will Jana Nayagan Overcome the ‘Censor’ Battle?

With just two days to go, uncertainty prevails over the release of Thalapathy Vijay’s highly anticipated final cinematic outing Jana Nayagan as the Censor Board refused to issue certification after it suggested some cuts and mutes to the final copy.

Despite sending the film for censor scrutiny on December 18, the team is yet to get clearance even till today and this inordinate delay has put the release plans in jeopardy. While Vijay’s fans are infuriated with the last minute hurdles, the production house has sought High Court’s intervention to secure a smooth release.

The counsel representing the producer alleged that the team made necessary modifications suggested by the board and resubmitted the edited copy promptly on December 24th, but the CBFC didn’t respond for nearly ten days and sent a communication on January 5th stating that it had been decided to refer the movie to the revising committee (an appellate body) only on the basis of an anonymous complaints about the contents of the film.

After hearing the arguments, the court has directed the CBFC to place all connected records before it and postponed the hearing to Wednesday. These developments have put fans are on the edge and they are now waiting for the final judgement with a bated breath as the fate of the release date hangs in balance.

If the court order does not come in favour of the movie team, it will be a huge setback. The film may get postponed to a later date, leading to a big mess in trade circles, as theatre agreements across Tamil Nadu have already been completed. Advance bookings have already begun, and many shows are filling up quickly in both overseas and domestic markets.

Amid all the unprecedented release troubles for this prestigious project, CBI has issued summons to Vijay for investigation into the Karur stampede incident and fans allege that it is a deliberate attempt by the ruling party to tarnish Vijay’s image ahead of his film’s release.

A lot of money and prestige are riding on this film. As the time is running out fast, fans are hoping that all issues will be sorted in the next two days to ensure that the film will have a thunderous opening on time and give a befitting box office tribute to Vijay. We have to wait for a few more hours to find out how the situation unfolds.