- Madras High Court ordered CBFC to issue UA certificate to Jana Nayagan film
- CBFC appealed against the court order, causing uncertainty over film's release
- Over 450,000 tickets worth ₹1 crore were refunded after film postponement
Thalapathy Vijay's Jana Nayagan, which ran into trouble with the Censor Board over a certificate issue ahead of its release, has been postponed. On Friday, the Madras High Court ordered the Censor Board to issue a UA certificate to the film. However, uncertainty still looms large over the film's release, as the Censor Board has appealed against the court order.
Meanwhile, advance bookings for the film were going full swing before it got embroiled in the row with the Censor Board.
As per a Hindustan Times report, "Industry trackers and ticketing platforms like BookMyShow began the monumental task of refunding over 450,000 tickets after this. Trade pundits estimate that tickets worth ₹1 crore have been refunded to viewers since the postponement was announced. Internationally, the number could be even higher."
NDTV also reached out to a BookMyShow representative for exact figures. The reply is awaited.
The court slammed the Censor Board, saying "entertaining such complaints is a dangerous trend." The Madras High Court also noted that the complaint against Jana Nayagan appears to be an "afterthought."
The film won't be sent to the CBFC review panel.
The Madras High Court reserved its order on Wednesday (January 7), and the matter was listed for hearing today—which was the film's original release date.
After the Wednesday hearing, the makers postponed the film's release.
KVN Productions approached the court after the film failed to obtain a certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), despite submission over a month ago. On December 19, the board suggested cuts and muted dialogues.
Directed by H. Vinoth, Jana Nayagan also stars Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Mamitha Baiju, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Priyamani, and Narain.
