'Jana Nayagan' release delayed: Congress supports Vijay, targets BJP

Coming out in support of actor Vijay, the Congress on Thursday laid the blame for Jana Nayagan not getting Censor clearance on the BJP-led Union Government, saying the people of Tamil Nadu will not tolerate “censorship of cinemas” for political gains and bow down to “politics of intimidation.”

As the Bengaluru-based K V N Productions postponed the movie release from January 9, the Tamil film industry rallied behind Vijay by expressing solidarity with the actor.

Though the Film Producers Council said this was a “routine development” as many movies face issues from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), actors and directors asked Vijay to stay strong, saying the movie will be a blockbuster whenever it hits theatres.

Though not surprising, the Congress supporting the actor by directly blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for exerting pressure on CBFC to block the censor certificate is significant given the intense speculation about the party warming up to Vijay.

Congress leaders told DH that the party’s support to Vijay should be viewed only through the prism of “artistic freedom” and not through any political angle – they said while the actor-politician is anti-DMK one should remember that he is anti-BJP as well and that it was imperative on all secular forces to support him.

“The controversy surrounding actor Vijay's film Jana Nayagan has sparked concerns about the misuse of political power. While political disagreements are understandable, targeting an artist's work is unacceptable. The people of Tamil Nadu will not tolerate censorship of cinemas for political gains,” Girish Chodankar, AICC in-charge of Tamil Nadu, said.

He also asked Modi to prove “your 56-inch chest claim” by taking on politician Vijay, not actor Vijay. Later, Chodankar clarified that the support for Vijay has nothing to do with his political party, TVK. DMK also said it does not see the Congress’ statement as one in support of Vijay but against the BJP.

MPs Manickam Tagore, and S Jothimani also lambasted the CBFC for not issuing the censor certificate for the movie, dubbed as the cinema swansong of Vijay.

Congress’ support to actor Vijay also comes close on the heels of its leaders seeking a share in power with the DMK in the 2026 assembly elections. Though the demand has created ripples, the Congress maintains that the party is still part of the DMK alliance.

This is not the first time that actor 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. 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.

Popular director Venkat Prabhu said no matter what, this one is going to be the biggest farewell in Indian cinema, while actor Ravi Mohan said he stands with Vijay.

“You don’t need a date.. you are the opening. Whenever that date is.. Pongal only starts then,” he said.

Another actor, Shanthnu, said he was heartbroken to see whatever is happening around Jana Nayagan release and that he stands with him.

Director Karthik Subburaj said the strict timeline rules for Censors (India & Overseas ) is really hard to follow and puts a lot of pressure on the creative space of filmmakers during post-production, especially when the release date of a big budget movie is announced.

“With current timeline rules for both Indian and overseas censors, the ideal time for a film to be fully completed is 3 months before release date, which is highly impossible for many reasons. This has to be streamlined and should be made a bit easy for filmmakers,” he added.