Vijay’s unreleased film Jana Nayagan leaked online before TN polls

Hindustan Times - Tamil superstar Vijay’s final film, Jana Nayagan, has been leaked online, even though it hasn't been released in theatres yet. On Thursday night, small clips from the film were shared on social media, and by Friday morning, HD prints of the full film were uploaded to piracy sites. The unreleased film has yet to receive CBFC clearance and has been in limbo for three months. The leak, which comes just before Vijay’s entry into politics with the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, has rattled the Tamil film industry.

On Friday, social media posts surfaced showing high-quality prints of Jana Nayagan being uploaded to piracy sites. Even as Vijay fans urged others not to share the links, the number of prints online kept increasing. Many noted that while earlier only 5-10-minute sequences of the film had been shared online, the complete film had now been uploaded. Many disappointed fans speculated about the source of the leak since the film is weeks away from release.

Fans of Vijay and industry insiders have reacted with anger to the leak. Amutha Bharathi, a cinema influencer, wrote on X, “A 400-500Crs film just got leaked overnight!! Toughest time for the Producer, distributor and the whole team. They should have been more cautious, as the film has gone into already serious troubles. Now the only & better way is to release JanaNayagan ASAP in the Theatres, if they got censor certificate.”

Movies Singapore, a prominent trade account, added, “#JanaNayagan - SHOCKING!! The entire movie has been leaked in premium HD quality. It is already circulating among many people, and many scenes are now out on social media. Despite fast copyright actions, the situation may only worsen from here. An earliest possible theatrical release is the only way forward.”