After a seven-month-long battle with the CBFC, CM Vijay's much-delayed Jana Nayagan has finally been granted the censor certificate with an A rating after 12 cuts/modidifications were suggested by the board.
Ahimsa Entertainment, which is handling the UK and Europe theatrical distribution for the political action thriller, had revealed that the film's has been certified with the caption, "One Last Time." With a release soon on cards, the CBFC has made several changes to the film including modifying visuals where Dr. Ambedkar is shown on the cover page of a book, removing dialogues were Vijay's party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) was mentioned along with replacing a key dialogue where "Ambedkar sattam" (Ambedkar rules) to "TVK sattam".
Among the other changes mandated by the board are the deletion of a shot showing the Indian national flag falling to the ground and the removal and replacement of a visual in which a DC office badge/insignia is rolled down. It is to be noted that the CBFC Chairperson referred Jana Nayagan to a Revising Committee after receiving a complaint alleging that the film contained "religious sentiments and the armed forces in an objectionable manner."
The board has further instructed the makers to mute the words "Bhagavatham" and "Ranganathar", as well as a couple of expletives. Additionally, the CBFC has asked for the removal of the word "OM" wherever it is uttered, along with the phrase "New India" during the explanation of Operation Meluha. A dialogue referring to the hanging of Saddam—"Thookula thudikiratha... avanae mediala leak panni"—has also been directed to be either muted or replaced before the film's theatrical release. They had also instructed to mute the entire dialogue "Ponnoda... kuduthu vachirukkanum, Udambu erukkunnu", and the words "India en kalla vizha vaikaren". The board has further instructed the deletion and replacement of visuals depicting a child being burnt, along with muting the word "Siluvaila". The name "Sheela Rani" was asked to be replaced wherever it is spoken in the film.
Jana Nayagan's imminent release ultimately marks the end of a prolonged wait for fans, audiences, and the producers, who had spent months hoping to see the film finally reach theatres. Besides the standoff between the CBFC and the makers, the film was also became a victim to large-scale piracy where the entire movie was leaked online.
Directed by H Vinoth, the upcoming film boasts a star-studded ensemble featuring Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol and Mamitha Baiju, alongside Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Narain and Priyamani. The film is backed by Venkat K Narayana of KVN Productions, in its foray into Tamil cinema. Jana Nayagan is also a partial remake of the 2023 Telugu film Bhagavanth Kesari. Although it was not claimed to be so by the makers, the film, many social media users have found similarities between the two films.