Jana Nayagan makers argue in Madras HC that Dhurandhar 2 release date was also announced before CBFC certification

The Madras High Court hearing for the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) vs KVN Productions was heard on Tuesday and order was stayed.

The Madras High Court hearing for the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) vs Jana Nayagan producers KVN Productions was held on Tuesday, and the order was stayed. When the CBFC questioned why the producers announced the release date for the Vijay-starrer without obtaining certification, they brought up Dhurandhar 2 as an example. (Also Read: Madras HC Bench reserves orders in Vijay's Jana Nayagan censor case, producers reveal Amazon threatened to sue)

Jana Nayagan makers questioned CBFC's logic in HC and cited Dhurandhar 2 as example.

Jana Nayagan producers bring up Dhurandhar 2 in HC

Additional Solicitor General ARL Sundaresan represented the CBFC, while Senior Advocate Satish Parasaran represented KVN Productions. The ASG argued before the bench in court that the producers fixed the release date first, and then argued in the previous single-judge HC case that taking more time for certification would cause a ₹500 crore loss. It was argued that they should not have decided the release date of January 9 in advance.

When the Chief Justice questioned the producers on how producers can announce a release date without certification, the counsel pointed out that no producer follows that procedure. While concluding their arguments, Parasaran also pointed out that Jana Nayagan has already been certified in 22 countries, and it’s not a practice to wait for certification before announcing the release date.

The advocate even pointed out that many Bollywood films, like Aditya Dhar’s Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar 2, have already had their release dates announced without certification. At the end of the December release Dhurandhar, it was announced that Dhurandhar 2 will hit screens on March 19.

Why the Jana Nayagan case is seeing 2nd HC hearing

The Jana Nayagan producers first approached the HC on January 5 after receiving a communication from the CBFC stating that the film was being sent to the revising committee, which can take up to 20 days to certify the film.

After reserving judgment on January 7, on January 9, a single judge directed the CBFC to grant the film certification. However, the CBFC challenged the judgment at the HC the same day. The producers approached the Supreme Court (SC) seeking relief in the case. But the SC refused to entertain the plea and asked him to seek relief from the HC on the January 20 hearing.