Rishab Shetty Calls Thalapathy Vijay's Jana Nayagan Leak 'Serious And Unacceptable'

Actor-filmmaker

Rishab Shetty on Saturday expressed solidarity with the team of the Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan, calling the leak a serious and unacceptable act. A five-minute clip, reportedly from Vijay’s much-awaited final film, surfaced online and quickly began circulating on social media. The leaked footage is said to include the actor’s introduction scene along with a portion of a song. Rishab Shetty took to X (formerly Twitter) to extend his support to the film’s team and condemn the piracy incident.

Rishab Shetty REACTS To Jana Nayagan Leak

“Cinema is built on passion, dreams, and love. Countless people work tirelessly to bring entertainment to audiences. When someone tries to tamper with that effort, even in the smallest way, it deeply affects everyone involved,” Shetty wrote.He added that the “unfortunate leak” of Jana Nayagan is a “serious and unacceptable act.”

Directed by H. Vinoth, Jana Nayagan boasts a powerful ensemble cast featuring Bobby Deol, Pooja Hegde, Mamitha Baiju, Prakash Raj, and Gautham Vasudev Menon.Stars including Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Suriya, and Chiranjeevi, along with film industry professionals across various film industries, have strongly condemned the leak of Jana Nayagan, starring Vijay and Pooja Hegde.

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the film’s leak, Pooja Hegde, who reunites with Vijay after Beast, shared an emotional message online. She described the incident as deeply disheartening and expressed disappointment over the circulation of the film. The actress noted that a film is the result of the collective effort of hundreds of people who invest time, creativity, and personal sacrifice to bring a story to life. She added that seeing the work released illegally undermines the respect and recognition the entire team deserves.

Rishab Shetty's Recent Films

On the work front, Rishab was last seen in Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1. It is an epic mythological action drama starring Shetty in four pivotal roles as Berme, Mayakara, Annappa and Kaadubettu Shiva.

The film also stars Jayaram, Rukmini Vasanth, and Gulshan Devaiah. A prequel to the 2022 film Kantara, the story delves deeper into the origins of the tradition and ancestral conflict introduced in the first film.Set in pre-colonial coastal Karnataka, the prequel blends regional folklore and divinity into a narrative that explores man's relationship with nature. It went on to become a huge commercial success at the box office and is currently the second-highest-grossing Kannada film of all time, the second-highest-grossing Indian film of 2025 and also ranks among the highest-grossing Indian films of all time.