Actor Vijay's final unreleased film, Jana Nayagan, has leaked on piracy websites. Pooja Hegde, the film's female lead, has expressed her hurt and disappointment over the leak, urging audiences to watch the film the right way, in theatres.
Pooja took to Instagram and shared a post on her Instagram Story, which read, “My lovely audience. A film is the result of countless hours, creative risks, personal sacrifices, and a team that showed up every single day hoping to give you the best experience possible. Seeing our film leaked online is disheartening, not just for me, but for every single person who worked on it.”
She added, “To see it being leaked and shared illegally is tough—not because of numbers, but because it takes away the respect that every artist and technician on the film deserves. Plus, don’t we all deserve to gather together to celebrate and watch Vijay sir’s last film, one last time, on the big screen in the right way? So let’s watch it the right way. Let’s wait. It will be out in due time. Let’s not encourage piracy. That’s how cinema and art will survive. Love, Art. Artists. Technicians.”
Jana Nayagan was scheduled to release in January, but was postponed after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) did not certify it. The CBFC raised objections to some of the film's content, after which the makers moved court. The matter is sub judice, and hence, the film’s release remains stalled. Now, amid that delay, the film has been leaked online.
The incident has triggered a wave of outrage among the film fraternity. Rajinikanth expressed shock and pain over the leak, requesting the government to take strict action against those responsible, while Kamal Haasan called it an “attack on art”, among others.
