Jana Nayagan, which marks actor-politician Vijay’s final appearance on screen, has landed in trouble right before its release. The planned January 9 theatrical release of the highly-anticipated film has been postponed, hours after the Madras High Court reserved its order on a petition challenging the Central Board of Film Certification’s (CBFC) decision to delay a censor certificate for the political actioner. Amid the tension, the movie has received clearance for release from the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) in the UK. Despite the uncertain Indian release, Jana Nayagan has already surpassed the Rs 50 crore mark in pre-release ticket sales globally.
The BBFC certified Jana Nayagan ’15’ for its ‘strong bloody violence, injury detail, sexual violence references’ on January 6, 2026. As per the classification, it was rated 4/5 for violence, sexual content, threat and injury visuals. Jana Nayagan has several scenes featuring beheadings, gunfights, drug trafficking, and sexual violence against women.
The film’s details on the BBFC website read, “The film deals with themes of terrorism, including depictions of terrorist attacks and their aftermath. Bereavement and grief are portrayed following deaths. There are scenes depicting racial discrimination, including a militia group firing at targets labeled ‘Indians.’ References are made to terrorist groups planning attacks, and villains attempting to create division based on race, caste, and religion.”
Advance ticket sales
Vijay’s film Jana Nayagan has seen a record-breaking surge in advance bookings overseas. According to a report by Pinkvilla, the film has already minted over USD 4 million in advance ticket sales globally. Traditional markets of Malaysia and Europe are also witnessing some of the biggest advances for a Tamil film ever. Moreover, in the USA, Jana Nayagan is said to be outperforming Prabhas’ The Raja Saab.
In Malaysia, where the audio launch of the film was held, Jana Nayagan sold 50,000 tickets in the first hour after advance booking opened four days prior to the release. It crossed 100,000 tickets within a day, with three more days left for advance sales to close. The film has grossed Rs 50 crore worldwide in pre-sales, surpassing Rs 32 crore for its opening day alone.
On the other hand, the theatres in India had also opened advance booking on BookMyShow, but due to the postponement, it has now been stopped. In fact, several theatres have announced that money will be refunded to people who booked the tickets earlier. All Friday screenings of Jana Nayagan scheduled for January 9 at Victory Cinema in Karnataka have been officially cancelled. The theatre confirmed on X that those who booked their tickets online will receive automatic refunds to their bank accounts, while the customers who bought tickets offline at the counter, can walk-in and claim their money.
Through its pre-ticket sales in India, the film had collected Rs 7.97 crore, without blocked seats. According to the industry tracker Sacnilk, the highest number of tickets were sold in Tamil language, around 31 lakhs. While Kerala had 1193 shows, recording Rs 1.23 crore with blocked seats, Karnataka registered Rs 3.67 crore with 308 shows, and Bengaluru grossed Rs 3.54 crore through advance ticket sales in 262 shows.
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Industry extends support to Thalapathy Vijay
Vijay’s fans and his friends in the Tamil industry have extended their support, amid the postponement. Director Karthik Subbaraj took to his X handle and wrote, “No theatres for an Low budget Indie film #Salliyargal. Censor delay causing postponement of a Big budget Big Star like Vijay Sir’s film #JanaNayagan slated to release tomorrow…Bookings are yet to open in many centres due to issue of certificate for other Big budget film #Parasakthi slated to release day after tomorrow… Tough times for Cinema!!”
He added, “For Big budget films… The strict timeline rules for Censors (India & Overseas ) is really hard to follow and puts lot of pressure on Filmmakers creative space during Post Production especially when ur doing a Big budget film with release date already announced… With current timeline rules for both Indian and overseas censors , the ideal time for a film to be fully completed is 3 months before release date… Which is Highly impossible for many reasons…This has to be streamlined and shud be made bit easy for Filmmakers… Both from the board the producers and the Stars… Otherwise postponement of Big films on festivals dates will eventually Kill Industry!!”
Some Thoughts just as a Lover of CINEMA!!
No theatres for an Low budget Indie film #Salliyargal
Censor delay causing postponement of a Big budget Big Star like Vijay Sir’s film #JanaNayagan slated to release tomorrow…
Bookings are yet to open in many centres due to issue of… pic.twitter.com/9ixK3u2qRa
— karthik subbaraj (@karthiksubbaraj) January 8, 2026
Actor Ravi Mohan also rallied in Vijay’s support as he tweeted, “Heartbroken. @actorvijay Anna.. as a brother I’m standing with you as one among the millions of brothers beside you. You don’t need a date.. you are the opening. Whenever that date is.. Pongal only starts then. #istandwithvijayanna.” The actor-politician’s fans have also been flooding social media, demanding a certificate by CBFC for Jana Nayagan.
Heartbroken 💔 @actorvijay Anna.. as a brother I’m standing with you as one among the millions of brothers beside you. You don’t need a date.. you are the opening. Whenever that date is.. Pongal only starts then. #istandwithvijayanna pic.twitter.com/ccFy6iK4qM
— Ravi Mohan (@iam_RaviMohan) January 8, 2026
Jana Nayagan release date postponement
The release of Jana Nayagan was postponed in India due to a complaint alleging the film “hurts religious sentiments.” The film was forwarded to an examining committee after the CBFC claimed to have received a complaint. The producer KVN Productions LLP said that the board had already reviewed the film on December 19, 2025, and verbally granted a UA 16+ certification. The instructed cuts and changes were also made in the political action-thriller.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice P T Asha said that her verdict will be pronounced only on January 9 – the day the film was scheduled to release on around 5,000 screens worldwide. The petition was filed by the film’s producer, against the non-issuance of a certificate by the CBFC. After Justice Asha reserved her order, KVN Productions announced that the release of Jana Nayagan had been postponed.
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“It is with a heavy heart that we share this update with our valued stakeholders and audiences. The release of Jana Nayagan, eagerly awaited on January 9, has been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances beyond our control,” the official statement on social media read.
— KVN Productions (@KvnProductions) January 7, 2026
They added, “We deeply understand the anticipation, excitement, and emotions surrounding this film, and this decision has not been an easy one for any of us. The new release date will be announced at the earliest. Until then, we humbly request your patience and continued love. Your unwavering support is our greatest strength and means everything to the entire Jana Nayagan team.”
Thalapathy Vijay’s Jana Nayagan was made on a huge budget of Rs 500 crore. Directed by H Vinoth, the film also features Pooja Hegde, Mamitha Baiju, Bobby Deol and Priyamani, among others.
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