Director Pa Ranjith has slammed the Cental Board of Film Certification (CBFC) for its delay in granting a censor certificate to Vijay's Jana Nayagan and the legal hurdles that ensued in the process.
Taking to his X handle, he called the actions of the board as "extremely deplorable". "It clearly appears that there is a possibility of this being driven by personal political vendetta," he noted, sharing his experience of facing similar pressures during the release of many of his films. He also cited Sivakarthikeyan's Parasakthi as an example.
Condemning the CBFC's actions in the process, he said, "What has happened to Jana Nayagan shows that the censor board has fallen into misleading and improper guidance. Moreover, such a regressive approach, where efforts are made aggressively to suppress dissenting or alternative voices, must be strongly condemned."
The Thangalaan filmmaker further urged people to raise their voices "to safeguard creative freedom" and to ensure that the CBFC functions independently in future.
Jana Nayagan, which has been facing censor woes from December 2025, has been pushed from its initial release of January 9. Since then, many celebrities including actors and directors like Silambarasan, Ravi Mohan, Jiiva, and Karthik Subbaraj, among others extended their solidarity with the film's team and to Vijay.
After a hearing before the Chief Justice of Madras HC on Friday following an appeal by the CBFC, the Court stayed the single judge's order made by Justice PT Asha which granted U/A 16+ certificate. The next hearing for the writ appeal is scheduled for January 20. With KVN Productions reportedly filing an appeal with the Supreme Court on Monday, a festive release seems unlikely for the H Vinoth-directorial. On Saturday, Producer Venkat K Narayana issued an official video statement, detailing the sequence of events and apologising to audiences and stakeholders for the unexpected delay. "This has been an extremely emotional and difficult moment for everyone who has poured their heart, soul, and years of hard work into this film. Above all, we firmly believe that Thalapathy Vijay sir deserves the farewell that he has earned through decades of love from his fans and respect from the industry," he said.
Meanwhile, Parasakthi faced similar censor-related issues and was finally granted a U/A certificate by the CBFC on Friday. Although the film released on Saturday, several scenes from the Sudha Kongara-directorial were met with the censor board's axe which included muting and replacing of many words.
