There is growing anger and restlessness among Vijay's supporters over the delay in issuing the censor certificate for his final film, Jana Nayagan.
Vijay's political party Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam thinks the censorial delay is deliberate, as the Central Board Of Film Certification viewed Jana Nayagan in December.
Given the highly unusual circumstances, the makers of Jana Nayagan have moved court just days before the scheduled release on December 9.
When the plea came up for hearing at the Madras high court, Justice P T Asha orally asked the Central Board Of Film Certification to produce a copy of the 'complaint' received by it claiming that the film 'hurts religious sentiments.'
The filmmakers had submitted that the movie had been referred for 'review' after an initial recommendation for U/A certification. Even though a release date has been fixed for the film, it can only proceed legally, the Censor Board submitted in the court.
The censor certificate has not been issued yet despite the fact that the film was sent for censorship on December 18.
Subsequently, on December 19, the Censor Board that viewed the film reportedly advised the removal of some scenes and muting of some dialogues.
Even after the changes were made and the film was resubmitted, the censor certificate has still not been issued.
During the court hearing, counsels representing the film production company stated that this film was made with an investment of around Rs 500 crore (Rs 5 billion).
The Censor Board had recommended that the film is eligible for a U/A certificate. But subsequently, stating that there is a scene that hurts religious sentiments, it has been sent for review to the revising committee.
They argued that since no one has seen the film, it's unclear how such a complaint was made, and therefore, an order should be issued to grant the certificate.
Since there are only a few days left, there is no need to send it to the revising committee, and the relevant files should be reviewed and an appropriate decision made, and a certificate should be issued to screen the film in three languages.
Directed by H Vinoth, Jana Nayagan also stars Pooja Hegde and Mamitha Baiju.
The film is scheduled for release in theatres on January 9, coinciding with the Pongal festival.
With inputs from Subhash K Jha
Photograph curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
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