CBFC orders changes in Vijay’s Jana Nayagan, mutes ‘TVK’, ‘New India’ references

The CBFC granted an 'A' certificate to Jana Nayagan after directing 12 modifications, including muting references to "TVK" and "New India", deleting a scene of the national flag falling, and altering certain dialogues and visuals before release

New Delhi: The censor board directed the makers of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s “Jana Nayagan” to mute or modify references to “TVK” and “New India” besides deleting a scene showing the Indian flag falling on the ground, according to the film’s certification order.

The order on the H Vinoth-directed film, which has been granted an ‘A’ certificate, lists 12 modifications comprising muted dialogues, altered visuals and deleted scenes. The film’s certification remained pending for nearly seven months and was at the centre of legal proceedings and a piracy controversy.

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Vijay launched Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in February 2024 after announcing his decision to quit acting and enter public life. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) order does not specify the reasons for the individual modifications.

Among the changes directed by the CBFC, the makers have been asked to modify visuals showing B R Ambedkar on the cover of a book.

A dialogue containing the words “Ambedkar sattam… TVK sattam” has been replaced, while references to “TVK” have been muted or modified wherever they occur in the film.

The CBFC also ordered deletion of visuals showing the national flag falling on the ground, replacement of scenes depicting a child being burnt, and removal of a visual in which a district collector’s office badge or insignia is rolled down in a disrespectful manner.

It further directed muting of religious terms “Bhagavatham” and “Ranganathar”. Two cuss words were also directed to be removed. The makers were asked to remove the words “New India” and mute the line “India en kalla vizha vaikaren” that translates to “I will make India fall at my feet”. According to the certification, the film underwent 20 seconds of deletions and 10 seconds of replacements, with no insertions. Its certified running time is 183 minutes and 11 seconds.

Produced by Bengaluru-based KVN Productions, the film was submitted to the CBFC on December 19 last year ahead of its planned Pongal release on January 9. While the examining committee is learnt to have initially recommended a U/A certificate after suggesting certain changes, the process stalled after objections were raised over some portions.

In January, the producers approached the Madras High Court alleging an unexplained delay in the certification process and seeking directions to the CBFC to take a decision on the application. The dispute later reached the Supreme Court before the producers withdrew their petition and agreed to have the film examined by a revising committee.

The controversy deepened in April when a high-definition copy of the uncertified film leaked online. During proceedings before the Madras High Court, it was submitted that the pirated version had been viewed around 1.2 crore times before access to it was blocked. Tamil Nadu Police later arrested several persons, including a freelance film editor, in connection with the leak.

Apart from Vijay, “Jana Nayagan” features Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, and Prakash Raj among others. The film has music by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Sathyan Sooryan and editing by Pradeep E Ragav. Industry sources said the film is expected to be released on July 24 and is likely to be screened in around 1,000 theatres across Tamil Nadu.