- Jana Nayagan is a remake of Telugu film Bhagavanth Kesari by Anil Ravipudi
- Director H Vinoth said only half of the original film's content remains in his version
- Vijay inspired Vinoth to adapt Bhagavanth Kesari for Jana Nayagan's script
Ahead of the much-awaited release of Vijay's Jana Nayagan, rumours about the film being a remake of a Telugu hit started creating a massive buzz on social media. Addressing the claims, director H Vinoth said that Jana Nayagan is a remake of Anil Ravipudi's Telugu film Bhagavanth Kesari, starring Nandamuri Balakrishna. He added that only half of the original film survived in his version.
During an interview with Screen, the director shared, “We made changes to the script to fit Vijay accordingly.” In a detailed interview with Galatta Plus, he revealed, “Jana Nayagan is about 50 per cent inspired by Bhagavanth Kesari. While the first half has 60 per cent similarity, the second half has only 20 per cent.”
H Vinoth further revealed that after remaking Pink into Tamil as Nerkonda Paarvai with Ajith Kumar, he was not interested in doing another adaptation. It was Vijay who told him to consider Bhagavanth Kesari an inspiration. “One thing I admire about Vijay, sir, is that he's deeply committed to women's empowerment. I saw the same conviction in Ajith sir when we worked on the Pink remake. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to work on Vijay sir's last film,” Vinoth shared.
Rumours about the remake started gaining attention in January 2025 when actor VTV Ganesh claimed at an event that Vijay had watched Bhagavanth Kesari at least five times and wanted Anil Ravipudi to direct its Tamil version, but he reportedly rejected it.
Later, Anil clarified that he had never made such a statement. “He is a superb gentleman. This is his final film as he leaves cinema for politics. So let us wait for the film to release to know if I have a role to play in it or not,” Anil shared during a press conference in December 2025. “After the release everyone will know how they have treated it, and it would be correct to talk only then. Let us not call it a remake or anything else till then,” he added.
"The director himself said it is THALAPATHY VIJAY FILM. So, let us treat it as it is till the release of this film. #ThalapathyVijay sir is Such a gentleman and We will know whether I have any part in his last film only after its release."
— Whynot Cinemas (@whynotcinemass_) December 30, 2025
- #AnilRavipudi | #JanaNayagan pic.twitter.com/jOVnNXHJTe
Jana Nayagan stars Vijay in the lead role alongside Pooja Hegde, Mamitha Baiju, and Bobby Deol in other prominent roles. The film marks Vijay's first film as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister after he won the election with his Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party. Jana Nayagan will also be released in Telugu as Jana Nayakudu and in Hindi as Jan Neta. All the versions will be released on July 23.
