Jana Nayagan Release Delay: Madras HC Orders UA Certificate, Thalapathy Fans Ecstatic
Madras High Court directed the CBFC to grant a U/A certificate to Vijay's Jana Nayagan, clearing legal hurdles after delays over alleged religious objections.
By ETV Bharat Entertainment Team
Published : January 9, 2026 at 12:03 PM IST
Chennai (Tamil Nadu): The Madras High Court on Friday ordered the CBFC to grant a U/A certificate to Thalapathy Vijay's upcoming film Jana Nayagan. The political action drama is widely reported to be Vijay's final film before his full-time entry into politics.
The decision brought relief and joy to supporters of the film. Fans gathered outside the Madras High Court and celebrated by distributing sweets to the public after the court ordered the CBFC to issue a U/A certificate to Jana Nayagan.
On January 7, the HC had reserved its order on a petition seeking a direction to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to give a censor certificate under the 'UA 16+' category to the much-anticipated film.
On January 6, when the plea came up for hearing, Justice PT Asha had orally asked the CBFC to produce on January 7, a copy of the "complaint" that claimed the film "hurts religious sentiments." The filmmakers had submitted that the movie had been referred for "review" after an initial recommendation for U/A certification.
Even though a release date has been fixed for the film as January 9, it can only proceed legally, the Censor Board had told the court.
Directed by H Vinoth, the film Jana Nayagan stars Vijay in the lead role, along with Prakash Raj, Pooja Hegde, Mamitha Baiju, Priyamani, and Gautham Vasudev Menon, among others. Music is composed by Anirudh Ravichander, marking his fifth collaboration with Vijay. The film team, having completed all work, sent it for censorship on December 18.
Subsequently, on December 19, the censor board that viewed the film reportedly advised the removal of some scenes and muting of some dialogues. Even after changes suggested by the censor board members were made, the censor certificate has still not been issued, the petitioner movie production house had submitted.
Jana Nayagan follows the life of a police officer who enters politics, a theme that closely mirrors Vijay's real-life journey. The actor recently announced his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, and has confirmed plans to contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
Produced by Venkat K Narayana under KVN Productions, with Jagadish Palanisamy and Lohith NK as co-producers, Jana Nayagan is expected to be Vijay's cinematic farewell.
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