‘Jana Nayagan’ censor trouble: Verdict likely on release day, BookMyShow halts bookings in Chennai, key cities

Thalapathy Vijay's Jana Nayagan, his last film before he dives into politics full-time, is facing a major roadblock ahead of its January 9 release. The Madras High Court has reserved its order on the plea filed by KVN Productions against the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for not issuing a censor certificate, putting the film's release in doubt.

The film, directed by H Vinoth, is Vijay's last movie before he enters politics and has generated significant anticipation. The court is likely to pronounce its verdict on Friday (January 9), NDTV reported. Given the situation, all pre-10 am shows effectively stand cancelled.

This delay is a significant hurdle to Jana Nayagan

’s release. Before the dubbed versions in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada can be released, the certification of the film's Tamil version is required.

Led by Justice PT Asha, the bench noted that the Examining Committee's objections had been reviewed previously, excisions had been made, and problematic language had been muted, but the CBFC chose to delay delivery of the certificate.

“Now, the only ground on which you want to review the movie is based on the complaint, which on the face of it is not maintainable because all objections raised in the complaint have already been dealt with," the court said, reported LiveLaw.

“You're a responsible body. When the entire exercise of revision is based on a complaint, and the complaint only says that objections have not been considered,” Justice PT Asha said.

Furthermore, the court questioned CBFC for failing to notify Jana Nayagan's producers of the decision to send the movie for review. The ASG responded that the CBFC Chairperson had instructed the Regional Office to halt the process and that the producers were notified on January 5, 2026.

According to LiveLaw, he further argued that under the Rules, the CBFC had 15 days to investigate a film and 20 days to form a Revising Committee after deciding to evaluate it.

“When there is a two-tier system, we should not be curtailed from taking it up with the second tier,” the ASG added.

Meanwhile, BookMyShow has removed the film's 'Book Tickets' option in some cities including Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, and Hyderabad, in response to new developments in the censorship matter.

The Jana Nayagan producers approached the Madras High Court after the film went uncertified for weeks despite having submitted the print well in advance. Although, the hearing was originally scheduled for January 6, it was postponed to January 7.

Directed by H Vinoth, the upcoming film also stars Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Priyamani, and Narain.