Vijay’s swearing-in makes Jana Nayagan title real, says film producer

Jana Nayagan producer Venkat K Narayana said Vijay’s swearing-in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in Chennai on Sunday was a historic moment, describing it as the journey of a reel hero becoming a real-life hero. In an exclusive interview with India Today’s Rajdeep Sardesai, Narayana said Vijay had contested for the first time against all odds and received a rare mandate from the people, adding that the support behind him was not just political momentum but a movement, especially among the youth and women.

Narayana also spoke about the delay in the release of Jana Nayagan, Vijay’s last film, which got caught in censor certification issues after it was initially scheduled for release in January. He said the film had been seen by the revising committee and that the team was now waiting for clearance, while also discussing Vijay’s popularity, his transition from cinema to governance, and the film’s social media campaign.

Here’s the excerpt of the interview:

On witnessing Vijay’s swearing-in ceremony:

We were very excited and elated to see him sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state. Truly historic moment. From being a reel hero to real life hero. It normally happens in movies. Contesting for the first time against all odds, getting this kind of mandate from the people. Normally, political parties go by the momentum that they have. But here it is a movement of the people. And they wanted him to be the voice, especially the youth, and the women.

We’re very happy and excited about what he has achieved. I think true justice for the title Jana Nayagan has been done by him becoming Jana Nayagan of Tamil Nadu, by becoming CM.

On the censor board tangle and whether there was a political pressure:

We are hoping [the film would release soon]. We need to follow the law of the land. We need to get the censor certificate to release any movie in the theaters. We did apply for censor in the month of December 2025. And we all know what happened after that. The revising committee has also seen the movie now. We’re hoping that we’ll get the certificate at the earliest. And the movie will be in the theater soon. Maybe it is destined that, in spite of us doing whatever we had to do to release the movie earlier, it is destined that it has to be released after he becomes chief minister with that title card.

Regarding the censor board hurdle, he said, “I don’t want to get to the nuances. Whatever has happened from January to now, all that I know is we need to apply for censor and need to get a certificate. The examining committee saw and gave a clearance with the U/A 16+, but subsequently we got an e-mail saying that a member who had earlier consented has now complained.”

Therefore, it has to go to a revising committee, and we didn’t initially approach the court of law. Subsequently, we chose to go to the revising committee and get it cleared. The revising committee has also seen the movie and, therefore, we await the clearance to release the movie at the earliest and people are very enthusiastic about seeing the movie on the big screen, and they’re waiting for it.

On the Vijay emotion

One thing about Vijay, from having seen him closely – I’ve worked with him for the last two years – he is an emotion for the people of Tamil Nadu and, irrespective of whatever the rating or the review of the movie, if you see him over the years, all of them have done very well at the box office because people just want to come to theatre, see him and celebrate. That’s the emotion. And people feel him as part of their family, like their brother, son, mama and friends. There is so much of relatability and emotion when it comes to him. I wouldn’t be surprised to know that every family in Tamil Nadu has got one Vijay fan.

On chatter about Jana Nayagan being made to project Vijay’s mass hero image

He has always been a mass hero and a people’s leader. He has become a politician now. He has always enjoyed a great fan following. He has picked up subjects that are relevant to people involving social justice, women and youth. So it’s not particularly with this movie.

If you see whatever movies that he has done over a period of time, they have taken him closer to the people. This [Jana Nayagan] being the last movie, it has garnered a lot more attention and also, the audio launch event that we did in Malaysia had a record turnout, setting a national record in the country – all these created that euphoria around this movie. But this is a normal commercial movie having all the elements which people enjoy in the theaters. It’s no different from earlier movies that he has done which people loved and appreciated.

From sets to secretariat: Can a superstar govern?

I’m neither a politician nor a seasoned movie producer. In fact, Jana Nayagan is the first Tamil movie that I’m producing. I am a chartered accountant and lawyer by profession. I used to head one of the largest listed real-estate company as a CEO for a long time. I like movies. I have a passion for movies. And I liked Mr. Vijay sir as an actor. The moment he said his last film, I said I should be part of it.

Movies did play a significant role in his life and took him closer to the people, no doubts about that. And politics is a different game altogether. As I said, he’s not just a politician, he’s a leader with the great backing of people. Now we come to administration. This is a different ballgame altogether. I’m very confident. We need to be patient a little and give him some time for him to settle down. He will turn out to be a great administrator, bringing in change.

I think knowing him well, with the kind of discipline, dedication and the focused approach that he follows, he will be a path-breaker for sure. In movies, I must tell you all the days that we have shot, he’s on the sets at 7 am and the first shot is given at 7:30 am. He’s disciplined, a great listener and a focused man. Once he settles down, he will be a great administrator. That’s what I’m hoping for. And knowing him, I am confident that he’ll be able to deliver.

The unknown Vijay and his vision

He’s got a clear vision as to what he wants to do. As I said, he’s the voice of the people. Almost 1,92,000 people have voted for him in the state despite contesting for the first time. Of course, there will be pressure. He had made promises. I’m sure he will work towards fulfilling all those. And the moment he sworn in, he started fulfilling some of his promises that he has made.

As I said, he has ears to the ground. He knows what people are feeling. His fans are everywhere. He knows what people are feeling. He knows what people are doing everywhere, passing on inputs to him. With that kind of input, he has the ability to take decisions. And he said in the speech yesterday, he’s not creating many power centers. And he will be able to take decisions. And he’ll take people and everybody else along, including opposition parties. In my view, with time, it will turn out to be a great administration.

On social media playing a role in election campaign

The social media campaign of Jana Nayagan is a benchmark. His fan clubs played a major role. And there are virtual warriors everywhere. And as I said, women and youth have always been with him. They connect with him very well through movies. And, as I said, they are very emotional about Mr. Vijay. Therefore, leading that kind of campaign, reaching out to people, to the people through social media has become easy and it became viral. And that translated into votes. That’s most important. A lot of leaders, heroes who entered into politics in the past also drew crowds, but they did not necessarily get converted to votes. Here, the conversion ratio is very, very high.

Jana Nayagan is Vijay’s last film as he is now into full-time politics as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.

– Ends