Rahul Gandhi backs Vijay over Jana Nayagan delay: ‘Attack on Tamil culture’

At a time when speculation is rife on whether the Congress is trying to woo TVK chief Vijay for a possible alliance for the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, senior party leader Rahul Gandhi has come out in support of Vijay much-touted “final film” Jana Nayagan, whose release had to be delayed because of a CBFC certification issue.

“The I&B Ministry’s attempt to block ‘Jana Nayagan’ is an attack on Tamil culture. Mr Modi, you will never succeed in suppressing the voice of the Tamil people,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha tweeted on Tuesday (January 13).

Delayed release

Jana Nayagan was supposed to be released on January 9, just ahead of Pongal celebrations on January 14. However, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) refused to issue the certificate even after about 27 cuts and mutes. It raised further objections over politically sensitive dialogues, too much violence, and other issues, and referred to film to a revising committee, based on a complaint filed by unrevealed sources, just four days before the scheduled release.

Also read: Political storm over Vijay’s Jana Nayagan: Is BJP playing alliance chess in TN?

Finally, the makers moved court. On January 9, the scheduled day of release, a single-judge bench of the Madras High Court ordered the CBFC to grant the film a U/A 16+ certificate immediately. However, the CBFC appealed against this decision, and a division bench subsequently stayed the order, pending a further hearing scheduled for January 21. Realising that the scheduled release would be impossible, the producers announced the postponement only on January 7.

Since Jana Nayagan is expected to be Vijay’s final film before his full-time entry into politics with his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), many fans and political voices have alleged the delay is a deliberate attempt to stall his momentum ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

Congress speaks up for TVK

The Congress, which is facing trouble with its usual ally, the DMK, in Tamil Nadu, has been strongly voicing support for Vijay and the TVK, with several leaders speaking up for the actor-turned-politician. Congress functionary Praveen Chakravarthy’s meeting with Vijay also sparked talks of a potential alliance.

Also read: Pongal dampener: Jana Nayagan release delay triggers ₹60-crore refunds

Though the DMK has been cautious, party chief and state Chief Minister MK Stalin also slammed the BJP-led Centre over the film delay on January 9. And now, Rahul Gandhi has also joined the bandwagon.

Jana Nayagan’s delay has triggered what has been called the largest ticket refund in Indian cinema history, with over 450,000 tickets refunded, costing platforms an estimated Rs 1-crore loss in India alone. While no fresh release date has been confirmed, the makers on Monday moved Supreme Court against the division bench order.