Can Jana Nayagan Repeat Attarintiki Daredi Magic?

In a big setback to Thalapathy Vijay and his team, the entire footage of his long delayed farewell film Jana Nayagan has reportedly been leaked online late in the midnight. This shocking update comes after a few crucial scenes were leaked online by some miscreants yesterday evening after which the team quickly issued a stern warning against those who circulate them. The scenes were later removed, but the entire film was leaked after a few hours. 

Reports suggest that the full uncensored version of the film was leaked for a brief period online before taking it down. Unfortunately, it might have been downloaded as many leaked scenes and links started going viral on social media platforms. A notorious piracy website has even announced that it will upload the film only after the theatrical release due to the ongoing political issues surrounding Vijay. 

Given that Jana Nayagan is Vijay’s farewell film and a lot of budget is spent on its making, the leakage of full footage will definitely dent the theatrical prospects because it is now highly impossible to stop the content from spreading even though the team warns of stringent action. 

While unauthorised leaks prior to release of films is not the first time, but the most shocking thing is how the entire footage has been leaked even before the censor scrutiny.

Moreover, the team has no option but to complete the censor formalities and release the film as soon as possible, even if it means trimming key scenes suggested by the board, as the theatrical and digital rights have already been sold, and this development is likely to send the buyers into panic mode.

Pawan Kalyan’s Attarintiki Daredi faced a similar situation as a major portion of the footage was leaked days before its release. The team immediately preponed the release to minimise the damage and luckily scored a blockbuster. But, that is not the case now for Jana Nayagan as the censor certificate is still awaited. 

Jana Nayagan was supposed to hit the screens in January this year, but couldn’t see the light of the day till now due to the legal entangles after facing censor issues. With Tamil Nadu elections round the corner, it is expected that the film will hit the screens only after the completion of these polls. 

Now that the entire footage is leaked, the team could only wait for the censor certificate and release the film immediately after the elections. Vijay’s fans eagerly waited to celebrate his final appearance on the big screen despite the inordinate delay. However, they are now in utter disbelief and shock with the unexpected leaks. Neither Vijay nor the team has reacted on this till now.

There seems to be very little room left for the team to recover from this setback. Many industry insiders believe that the CBFC should take this situation into consideration and expedite the censor formalities before the elections, so the film can hit screens immediately after polling ends.

While it is uncertain whether the film can recreate the success of Attarintiki Daredi, several feel that being Vijay’s farewell film, it still has the potential to draw audiences to theatres one last time to witness him on the big screen.

Directed by H. Vinoth, the political action thriller has music by Anirudh Ravichander. KVN Productions has bankrolled the film.