H Vinoth’s Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan was supposed to hit screens on January 9 but was indefinitely postponed due to a censor delay by the CBFC
Actor-politician Vijay’s final film, Jana Nayagan, helmed by H Vinoth, is stuck in a limbo with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), and three court cases later, there’s still no resolution. Amid this, a trade analyst told India Today that it’s not just the producer, KVN Productions, who is suffering; Tamil Nadu theatres are facing a loss of over ₹100 crore due to the delay.
Jana Nayagan delay causes ₹100 crore loss to theatres
Jana Nayagan was seen as a jackpot before its release, given that it’s Vijay’s last film before he enters politics. The farewell film also had the edge of releasing during Pongal, when families head to the theatres to catch the latest release. However, after a dry November and December 2025, the delay offered no relief to theatre owners, exhibitors and distributors.
Trade analyst Ramesh Bala explained the loss and said, “Pongal was supposed to witness the clash of Vijay’s Jana Nayagan and Sivakarthikeyan’Parasakthi. However, the film’s release was stalled. Vijay’s film could easily have made ₹150-200 crore in Tamil Nadu alone. Parasakthi made ₹55 crore in Tamil Nadu.” He also mentioned that Karthi’s Vaa Vaathiyaar was a ‘complete washout’ while Jiiva’s Thalaivar Thambi Thalaimayil made about ₹30 crore.
This means that the box office in Tamil Nadu saw nearly ₹85 crore, but the delay in Jana Nayagan means they suffered a greater loss. “Since there is no projected revenue, the Tamil Nadu box office could have lost almost ₹100 crore because of Jana Nayagan’s delay,” he said. A Chennai theatre owner, Ruban Mathivanan of GK Cinemas, also said that the delay of Jana Nayagan has messed up the release schedule of Tamil films for the next few months.
He claimed that the first quarter of 2026 ‘screams crisis’ for Tamil cinema and that theatre owners could’ve sustained for 2-3 months just from Jana Nayagan reviving the business after the dry phase since November 2025.
What Jana Nayagan’s deferred release means
As the Madras High Court passed the ball to a single judge for yet another hearing on the case, and the CBFC moved the Supreme Court for a caveat that no order should be passed without hearing it in connection with the release of the film, fans who hoped for a February release might have to wait longer.
Even if the court clears the film for release, as does the CBFC, the Election Commission’s announcement of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Election schedule might throw a wrench in. Films like Pradeep Ranganathan’s Love Insurance Kompany and Suriya’s Karuppu that are scheduled for release next hang in a limbo too due to this uncertainty. The IPL season will only add to the decreasing theatre footfalls.
Jana Nayagan stars Vijay, Mamitha Baiju, Pooja Hegde and Bobby Deol in lead roles. It is an adaptation of Anil Ravipudi’s Bhagavanth Kesari.
Source Hindustan Times
