Vijay's latest actioner Jana Nayagan faced multiple hurdles from early this year ranging from being unable to obtain a censor certificate to becoming a victim of piracy. The film is yet to see the light of the day owing to the Tamil Nadu assembly elections scheduled to take place earlier this month. Amidst these controversies, his father and veteran actor-director SA Chandrasekhar opened up on his views about the issue underlining how Vijay was well aware of the obstacles that Jana Nayagan would face.
In an interview with Behindwoods, he said, "Don't say you didn't expect the problems. When Vijay signed the film, he told the producer during the audio launch held in Malaysia, 'See, you are making a film when I am heading to politics. I hope you are aware of the hurdles the film would face. Are you okay with that?' He knew it would face hurdles. That is why he said the same. It was well expected. We are not shocked."
When probed further on the nature of the leak, he shared, "Criminal minds first attack the heart and then go break the financial route." Speaking about whether the opposition parties would be involved in the issue, he noted that it was just a "speculation" and that it is natural that everyone would have such a thought. "If the film was released without any hurdles, we would have been surprised," he remarked.
Directed by H Vinoth and starring Vijay, Pooja Hegde, Mamitha Baiju, Bobby Deol, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Narain and Priyamani in key roles, the actioner was set for release in theatres during the Pongal festival in January. However, it faced major delays and legal hurdles due to censor certificate-related issues and continues to remain in the cans. Recently, the film was leaked in its entirety on various illegal pirated sites, causing further distress to the makers.
After a complaint was filed with the Chennai Cyber Crime police, officials arrested three people in connection to the leak. These arrests come after six people were arrested on April 12. In a press release, the Cyber Crime wing revealed that the main accused is a freelance editor who gained access to the film's footage and stole it. After rendering the footage, the accused shared the footage with the co-accused, leading to widespread circulation.
