In a major setback for director H Vinoth’s ‘Thalapathy’ Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan, the Madras High Court has reserved its order in the plea filed by KVN Productions against the non-issuance of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certificate for the political actioner. Marking the actor’s last film before his full-fledged political entry, Jana Nayagan is one of the most anticipated Indian movies of the year, on which both stakeholders and fans have pinned much hope. The court’s decision has dealt a blow to all of them. Reportedly, the HC will most likely pronounce its order on the morning of January 9, casting a long shadow over the movie’s release scheduled for that day.
The film’s makers moved the High Court on Tuesday, January 6, against the inordinate delay in receiving a green signal from the CBFC. Instructing the board to submit all records, including a complaint received against the contents of the movie, the court adjourned the hearing until Wednesday afternoon. The board had also informed the HC that a fresh committee had been appointed to review the movie again. As the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, both Additional Solicitor General (ASG) ARL Sundaresan, appearing for the CBFC, and senior advocate Satish Parasaran, appearing for Jana Nayagan’s team, made strong arguments.
During the hearing, Live Law reported, the ASG pointed out that the board’s chairperson can order a review even after the examining committee has viewed the movie. The court, meanwhile, noted that once the chairperson decided to review, the board should have informed the movie’s makers not to proceed with the changes previously instructed, to which the ASG replied that the board had instructed the regional office to put the process on hold. The ASG further maintained that the movie must be reviewed by a fresh committee, adding that the person who raised objections is a member of the board.
“If something more is to be cut, some more changes have to be made; it should be done as per the law. The petitioner cannot come to court and say that since you said you’ll grant a certificate, you cannot review again,” he pointed out. The ASG further emphasised that the CBFC can take up to 15 days to examine a movie and noted that if a film must be reviewed, a committee needs to be formed only within 20 days of such a decision. “Something fundamentally wrong has been identified. Should they not be allowed to examine it?” he asked. He also revealed that the movie’s makers filed an application for certification only on December 18 and stated that the decision to send it for review was not taken by the central government.
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Meanwhile, advocate Parasaran pointed out, “One of the grounds of complaint was that the movie hurts the sentiments of the minority community, and a member of that minority community was not part of the committee, thus it should be reviewed.” Parasaran demanded that the CBFC discharge its duty as per law. After hearing both sides, Justice Asha reserved the order, noting, “I’ll just say that these kinds of complaints are not healthy.” According to Live Law, the order is most likely to be pronounced on the morning of January 9, affecting Jana Nayagan’s first-day first-show (FDFS) that was scheduled to begin at 6 am in states like Kerala.
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