Jana Nayagan vs CBFC: Kamal Haasan demands ‘reasoned justification’ for every suggested edit, says ‘cinema lovers deserve openness’

As uncertainty continues to loom over the release of Jana Nayagan, the final film of actor Thalapathy Vijay, actor-politician Kamal Haasan has criticised the ongoing censor board controversy. Taking to X, Kamal shared a strong statement highlighting the urgent need to re-evaluate the film certification process and introduce clearly defined timelines.

In his post, Kamal Haasan wrote, “India’s Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, guided by reason and never diminished by opacity. This moment is larger than any one film; it reflects the space we accord art and artists in a constitutional democracy.”

He further emphasised that cinema is a collective effort, stating, “Cinema is not the labour of an individual alone, but the collective work of an ecosystem of writers, technicians, performers, exhibitors, and small businesses whose livelihoods depend on a fair and timely process.”

For Art, For Artists, For the Constitution pic.twitter.com/sOrlOOLFtv

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) January 10, 2026

Highlighting the maturity of audiences, Kamal added that cinema lovers bring passion, discernment, and maturity to the arts and deserve openness and respect from institutions. Underlining what he termed as the need of the hour, the veteran actor wrote, “What is required now is a principled relook at certification processes with defined timelines, transparent evaluation, and written, reasoned justification for every suggested cut or edit.”

He also urged the Indian film industry to unite and engage in meaningful, constructive dialogue with government institutions. According to him, “Such reform will safeguard creative freedom, uphold constitutional values, and strengthen India’s democratic institutions by affirming trust in its artists and its people.”

Kamal Haasan’s statement comes a day after the Jana Nayagan hearing was pushed to January 21 by Madras HC, effectively preventing the film from releasing in theatres on Pongal. The Jana Nayagan team is currently battling a case against CBFC for delaying the issuance of the certification, which led to the abrupt postponement of the film.

Notably, Parasakthi was also left in limbo until the last minute, adversely affecting its advance bookings. Sivakarthikeyan’s Parasakthi received its censor certificate just a day before its scheduled release, and that too after 25 cuts, earning a U/A rating.

Speaking about the last-minute censor clearance, Sivakarthikeyan told India Today: “We received the changes at the last minute. After that, we had to make the suggested changes and upload them to QUBE. Our main focus was to release the film as we were chasing a release date. The Censor Board functions according to their own regulations, and we didn’t have time to analyse whether it was an advantage or disadvantage.”

He added: “If we had more time, we might have explained to them the context of certain dialogues that they asked us to mute. We were running after a release date, so we ensured that the core of the story remained unaffected while implementing the cuts.”

The actor highlighted that they had only 10 hours to execute the mandated changes.

Directed by H Vinoth, Jana Nayagan is touted to be Vijay’s final film before his political foray. The actor recently held a massive audio launch event in Malaysia, attended by over 75,000 people. Jana Nayagan had Rs 500 crore riding on it and was expected to be the biggest Sankranti release of the year. However, with the court pushing the hearing to January 21, the film will now miss the crucial festive release window.