Jana Nayagan Director H Vinoth has finally broken his silence, addressing allegations of the film’s leak and the Censor Board’s role in its delayed release.
Key Points
- Director H Vinoth refuted claims that Jana Nayagan was leaked by its makers, citing the film’s substantial budget and the unlikelihood of such a conspiracy going undetected.
- Vinoth defended actor-politician Vijay’s silence on the piracy issue, explaining that Vijay avoided involvement to prevent diverting the issue and attracting political criticism.
- The director acknowledged the injustice of the CBFC’s delay but stated the team lacked evidence to fight it, focusing instead on the film’s eventual release.
If everything had gone according to plan, Jana Nayagan would have released in theatres on January 9.
‘Thalapathy’ Vijay would have scored yet another blockbuster, continuing the trend of his recent releases. A couple of months later, he would have become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu.
What actually happened was that the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused to grant the film a certificate, reportedly objecting to several scenes it deemed too political. The decision sparked a huge outcry from Vijay’s fans and the media.
Jana Nayagan was postponed indefinitely, with no clarity on its new release date. Yet, Vijays’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party went on to win the Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
Addressing Piracy Allegations
In the meantime Jana Nayagan became a victim of piracy, with the entire film leaking online and becoming available on torrent sites. Although the police made a few arrests, the damage had already been done.
Detractors of the actor-politician alleged that Jana Nayagan had been leaked by Vijay himself to gain sympathy ahead of the polls.
Now that the film has secured a proper theatrical release on July 23, Director H Vinoth addressed the media ahead of its release.
Among the many questions at the media conference, he was asked about allegations that Jana Nayagan, which is also releasing in Hindi as Jana Neta, had been leaked by the makers themselves.
According to the Daily Thanthi news web site, the director responded, ‘A film made on a budget of around Rs 400 crore cannot be leaked just like that. Even if such a conspiracy had existed, the authorities would have uncovered it within a matter of hours or days.’
Delayed Release and Vijay’s Silence
With the film finally getting its theatrical release, the director added, ‘There is a sense of relief, like we have finally reached the end of a problem. And we believe we will get justice for it from the public.’
Vinoth also defended Vijay‘s silence throughout the controversy.
‘I think Vijay sir did not involve himself because it may have diverted the issue and led to criticism. Had Vijay made an appeal, people might have said there are so many problems in the country, including the farmers’ issue. When he did not make an appeal on such matters, why was he doing it now? That could have become the criticism.’
‘He (Vijay) was not the chief minister then. These allegations are being made only for political mileage.’
CBFC Objections
Responding to questions about how the CBFC had delayed the film’s release, Vinoth said, ‘Those were difficult times for me, the producer and everyone in the team. We hardly had any time to fight it out because we were focused on the film’s release more than anything else. There is no point in showing any anger towards the CBFC. One body cannot stop the film.’
‘Of course, injustice was done, but we lack evidence.’
Jana Nayagan is reportedly a loose remake of the Telugu hit Bhagavanth Kesari, which starred Nandamuri Balakrishna, Sreeleela, Kajal Aggarwal and Arjun Rampal.
Vinoth also explained why Vijay chose Bhagavanth Kesari as the foundation for Jana Nayagan: ‘He listened to a lot of scripts, but he had a clear vision of how he wanted his last film to be. This story deals with women’s empowerment, which reflects how he feels about women. Bhagavanth Kesari had all those elements.’
Jana Nayagan also stars Mamitha Baiju and Pooja Hegde as the female leads, with Bobby Deol playing the main antagonist.
Audience Support Despite Setbacks
Even though Jana Nayagan has been available online through pirated copies for months, the film is still registering impressive advance booking numbers.
According to box office tracking web site Sacnilk, Jana Nayagan had collected an estimated Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) in advance bookings by Wednesday morning, excluding blocked tickets, with over 650,000 tickets sold.
Cinema Express quoted trade analysts as predicting a worldwide opening of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) for the film.
Reacting to the enthusiastic response, the director said, ‘I need to thank the audience for this support. They had the option of watching the film on their phones. Yet, they have chosen to come to theatres to support Jana Nayagan.’
If the film becomes a blockbuster despite its delayed release and the piracy setback, it will only reinforce Vijay’s seemingly infallible box office pull which he has put on hold for his new role as chief minister.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
