Jana Nayagan review highlights: Vijay gets emotional farewell from fans, film runs to housefull shows

Jana Nayagan saw a bumper opening despite mixed reviews, as fans thronged theatres to catch Vijay ‘one last time’ on the big screen. As per Sacnilk, the film crosses the ₹24 crore mark by 7 PM.

The Telugu star wrote, 'This is more than a release, this is a moment in history. Wishing my dear brother, Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, @actorvijay and the entire #JanaNayagan team a grand success.

It's truly inspiring to see you begin a new chapter of service while giving your fans one final cinematic celebration. That speaks volumes about your love for people and for cinema.

Wishing the entire team a blockbuster success!'

The craze in theatres is high for Vijay's final film, with fans turning screenings into a celebration. Trisha Krishnan saw the film on the first day and reposted on her Instagram Stories which had the caption, ‘The madness that was Jana Nayagan.’

The last few minutes of Jana Nayagan had a montage of Vijay's several iconic characters on screen, which turned many fans emotional. Videos on social media saw fans staying till the last minute of the film to see Vijay one last time on screen.

‘Jana Nayagan was absolute Mass and the thoroughly entertaining from start to end. Loved the dialogues!#Thalapathy @actorvijay Anna’s style, swag, screen presence and performance were Vera level as usual! Will Miss you a lot On screen Dear Anna! Thanks for all the wonderful celluloid moments all these years!Love you always,’ wrote the actor.

Jana Nayagan received mixed reviews upon release, with many saying that Vijay should have made his farewell with a better film. “As a fan, I wanted to watch him on the big screen one last time. To that extent, I genuinely enjoyed the experience. But I couldn't enjoy the film itself,” reviewed a fan.

Anil Ravipudi wrote for Vijay, “You've given audiences countless memorable moments over the years, @actorvijay sir, and I'm sure #Jananayagan will become another cherished milestone in your remarkable journey.”

He added, “From Thalapathy to the Hon'ble Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, you've truly lived up to the name #JanaNayakudu. Heartfelt best wishes to @TheKVNOfficial garu, #HVinoth brother, and the entire team. May this film become a historic blockbuster and receive all the love it deserves.”

‘To the person I admire as a colleague, an elder brother and a leader.. with happy tears and a proud heart ready to witness the #onelastdance of our #Thalapathy Viijay anna!! ❤️ You have always inspired us through your work and setting a benchmark in the industry. I can never forget your words of encouragement when i was in my low phase, it changed my entire perspective & purpose. Thank you anna.. We will miss you here, but happy that you have taken a bigger role now in serving people. Sure you will give your 100% as you always have. We stand by you.. Love you loads!!’ wrote the actor on his X account.

Speaking on the day of Jana Nayagan release, state Health Minister Arun Raj said, "This is a very emotional moment as it is our leader’s last film. Everyone knows that he gave up the profession he loved to become the Chief Minister. As far as our leader is concerned, he believes that whatever responsibility he takes up should be carried out with honesty. Once he entered politics, he felt that he should dedicate himself to it completely, with his full attention and commitment. That is why he left the film industry...''

Jana Nayagan star Pooja Hegde, who shares screen space with Vijay in the film, took to Instagram and wrote, “Release day is here and for ONE LAST TIME, one last dance... your Halamithi and Habibo.. Kayal and Vetri.”

“After all the struggles, it is a surreal and emotional moment to watch film with the audience”, music director Anirudh said after watching Jana Nayagan on the big screen. He also said he will miss watching Vijay on screen.

Trisha Krishnan saw Jana Nayagan on the first day of release, at the Rohini Theatre in Koyambedu. When she was asked by reporters about her reaction to the film, Trisha refused to comment and simply said, ‘We are looking forward.’

By 4 PM on Thursday, Jana Nayagan had earned ₹17.81 crore. The Telugu dub is now inching towards ₹1 crore with the Hindi version not far behind either.

HT's 2-star review of the film states: “Vinoth decides to turn this story into a superhero movie with his hero being a vanilla-grade vigilante. The weak VFX and CGI shots don’t immerse me enough to believe this. The film’s biggest drawback is how it props up Himmler to be this unbeatable force who can take over countries, but is, of course, weak before Vetri. Even worse is how his backstory is supposed to evoke some emotion in you, but the only thing it does is make you laugh.” Read the full review here

Sacnilk reported that by 3 PM, Jana Nayagan grossed over ₹4 crore in the national cinema chains. PVR leads the charge with a gross of ₹2.25 crore from 86,000 tickets, followed by INOX at ₹1.20 crore (43,000 tickets) and Cinepolis at ₹55 lakh (13,000 tickets).

Jana Nayagan sold over 100k tickets on online platform BookMyShow in just five hours on Thursday. By 3 PM, the film was selling 26k tickets per hour on the platform.

By 3 PM on Thursday, as the morning and afternoon shows concluded, Jana Nayagan had earned ₹17 crore net domestically.

In Nilgiri, State Minister Mathanraja celebrated the release of Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's Jana Nayagan with fans, offered prayers and cut a cake.

The producer of Jana Nayagan, Venkat K Narayana, said, "I will definitely miss him, and all the people are saying the same thing that they're going to miss him," he said. On the prospect of the Chief Minister ever returning to acting, the producer remarked: "In the newer responsibilities, if time permits, definitely we would want him to continue to see in the theatres."

By 2 PM, Jana Nayagan had crossed the ₹14 crore mark, with the Tamil version spearheading this charge with a ₹13.30 crore haul.

Uma Krishnan, actor Trisha's mother, told reporters after watching the film, "We had a good time. We really enjoyed the movie. I feel bad that this is his last film. We are going to miss him..."

Speaking to the media outside a theatre in Chennai after watching the film on Thursday morning, composer Anirudh said, “It's an emotional moment for the whole team and me. After all the struggles the film has gone through, sitting with the audience and seeing it is very special. When the fans are screaming and enjoying so much, we are also screaming. But we are also feeling emotional.”