Chennai: The makers of Jana Nayagan, actor-politician Vijay’s final film directed by H Vinoth, have approached the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court ruling, India Today reported. 

The film, originally slated to hit theatres on January 9, could not be released as scheduled due to ongoing legal proceedings and issues related to its censor certification.

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On Friday, a Madras High Court division bench stayed an earlier order of a single bench that had directed the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to issue a U/A 16+ certificate for the film.

Reacting to the setback, producer Venkat K Narayana of KVN Productions said, “This has been an extremely emotional and difficult moment for everyone who has poured their heart, soul and years of hard work into this film. Above all, we firmly believe that Thalapathy Vijay sir deserves the farewell he has earned through decades of love from his fans.”

Explaining the legal developments in a video message, Narayana said that following hearings on January 6 and 7, the court had directed that a U/A 16+ certificate be issued. However, “the CBFC immediately challenged this decision and the order to issue the certification was stayed, with an interim stay having been granted.” He apologised to fans for the delay.

When asked why multiple hurdles were being faced by Jana Nayagan, Nagenthran replied, “The censor board followed rules.”