Jana Nayagan row | Madras High Court stays order directing CBFC to grant censor certificate to Vijay starrer

This is not the first time that Vijay’s movies have faced trouble. In 2013, his movie 'Thalaivaa' was not released in Tamil Nadu and dialogues critical of GST in 2017 movie 'Mersal' stoked a major controversy.

Chennai: Trouble mounted for actor Vijay’s Jana Nayagan on Friday with a division bench of the Madras High Court imposing a stay on the order by a single judge directing the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to grant U/A certificate. The court will now hear the matter next on January 21 but the producers of the movie are likely to approach the Supreme Court for relief.

The day saw dramatic developments with justice P T Asha allowing the release of the movie, dubbed as Vijay’s cinema swansong as he takes the political plunge, after contending that the Chairperson of the CBFC However, within minutes of the order, Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan moved the first bench of Chief Justice M M Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan challenging the order of justice Asha and sought an urgent hearing.

In a cryptic tweet, Chief Minister M K Stalin, whom Vijay identifies as his political enemy, said the Censor board has now become a “new tool” in the hands of the Union Government on the lines of the CBI, ED, and IT. While Jana Nayagan is yet to be released, the DMK-backed Parasakthi has undergone 25 cuts. 

While Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared on behalf of the CBFC, the production house air dashed former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to argue in its favour along with Satish Parasaran. The division bench felt that the single judge did not give sufficient time for the CBFC to put forth its point of view in the case.

“You cannot create a false state of emergency and put pressure on the court to pass orders. How can you go ahead with the screening of the movie without any certificate in hand?” the bench asked the producers before staying the single judge order that directed the CBFC to issue U/A 16+ certificate to the move.

The judges also said the producers did not challenge the January 5 order of the CBFC that referred the movie to a revising committee after agreeing to give UA 16+ certificate. “All said and done there was no certificate granted to respondents,” the division bench added.

Jana Nayagan, which was planned to be released worldwide on January 9, was postponed to an unannounced date on January 7 after the producers failed to get a reprieve from the High Court. The examining committee of the CBFC watched the movie on December 19, 2025 and recommended U/A certificate and the decision was communicated to the producers on December 22, 2025. However, on January 5, the Regional Officer of CBFC claimed the chairman had decided to refer the movie to a revising committee.

The single judge had said that the CBFC Chairperson had decided to send the movie for review after receiving a complaint from one of the committee members alleging that his objections were not considered.

"It is therefore crystal clear that the complainant's grievance that he had not been granted an opportunity appears to be an afterthought and appears motivated," the court had observed.

This is not the first time that actor Vijay’s movies have faced trouble. In 2013, his movie Thalaivaawas not released in Tamil Nadu and dialogues critical of GST in 2017 movie Mersal stoked a major controversy. The next year, Sarkar faced intense opposition from the AIADMK due to scenes critical of welfare measures and the name of a character that was identical to J Jayalalithaa’s original name.