Why Pooja Hegde agreed to ‘Jana Nayagan’ even with less screentime?

Pooja Hegde may have limited screentime in ‘Jana Nayagan’, but an insider says the actress had a heartfelt reason for joining Thalapathy Vijay's final film before his full-time political journey.

Ahead of the film's release, director H Vinoth revealed that Pooja plays a television journalist and appears only in a handful of scenes. He also admitted that her role was originally much bigger and apologised to the actress.

“When I first wrote the script, Pooja had several important scenes. However, during the final edit, I had to trim many of them because of the film's runtime,” Vinoth said in a recent interview.

The revelation disappointed many fans, who were looking forward to seeing Vijay and Pooja reunite after ‘Beast’. Several also took to social media, saying the actress has yet to receive Tamil roles that fully showcase her acting abilities.

However, a source close to Pooja says the actress accepted the smaller role because of what ‘Jana Nayagan’ represents in Vijay's career.

"Pooja has several crucial scenes. It was incredibly sweet of her to onboard ‘Jana Nayagan’ because it marks Thalapathy Vijay’s last film before he invests himself entirely into politics.

She was keen and equally excited to make it memorable. Considering that Pooja and Vijay’s pairing has connected well with the audience through Beast, it was her respect and bond with Vijay that made her say yes to the film."

‘Jana Nayagan’ also stars Bobby Deol and Mamitha Baiju in pivotal roles.

The film follows an ordinary man who unexpectedly becomes a symbol of resistance after standing up against local injustice, gradually evolving into a reluctant leader as he faces mounting political and personal challenges.

Originally scheduled to release on January 9, 2026, ‘Jana Nayagan’ was delayed due to certification issues after complaints over certain scenes. The film was eventually cleared with an 'A – Adult Only' certificate. The film released in theatres on July 23, 2026.