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Ever since the first glimpse of Jana Nayagan dropped, one question has refused to go away: How much of Thalapathy Vijay's farewell film is inspired by Nandamuri Balakrishna's Bhagavanth Kesari? While the makers have never confirmed remake reports, the trailer only fuelled speculation, with several scenes and character beats appearing strikingly similar to Anil Ravipudi's 2023 Telugu blockbuster.
Now, after months of delays caused by a prolonged certification standoff with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) and multiple legal hurdles, Jana Nayagan is finally headed to theatres on July 23. As audiences prepare to watch Vijay's swansong, released after his first electoral victory as Chief Minister, we take a look at the Bhagavanth Kesari parallels and just how closely H Vinoth's film appears to follow the Telugu hit.
The not-so-beloved guardian
The 2023 film Bhagavanth Kesari featured Balayya as a guardian of young Sreeleela after serving imprisonment for a crime he never committed. Balayya raises Sreeleela with the intention of honing her skills so she can join the military, only to face pushback from her. He pushes her so hard that she starts to hate him for it.
In Jana Nayagan, Vijay replaces Balayya, while Mamitha Baiju replaces Sreeleela. As the trailer reveals, Vijay coaxes Mamitha Baiju to join the military. However, her childhood trauma doesn't let her pursue it, and the film shows Vijay helping her heal and become a strong woman, in contrast to the timid girl she once was. Much like Balayya, his relentless push seems to earn him her resentment before things come around.
Emotional flashback
Before serving a jail term, Balayya plays a police officer in Bhagavanth Kesari, fighting for the tribals. Jana Nayagan features Vijay as Pallavaram Inspector Thalapathy Vetri Kondan, known in short as TVK, his political party's abbreviation for Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam.
In the H Vinoth directorial, Vijay seems to be playing the role of a cop working towards the welfare of the tribals. Jana Nayagan's emotional core will also lie in this flashback, which is expected to move audiences.
Women empowerment and safety
Bhagavanth Kesari won a lot of appreciation in 2023 for its women-forward storyline. In the film, Balayya's character teaches the concept of good touch and bad touch to school children. Similarly, the film is centred on Balayya raising Sreeleela to be a confident and strong woman who doesn't need to be saved.
Jana Nayagan features the same treatment, with Vijay's character guiding Mamitha Baiju's. This is wrapped in a commercial cinema format, which has been cited as one of the reasons for choosing Bhagavanth Kesari as the inspirational material.
The big enemy and bigger purpose
Bhagavanth Kesari was not just about Balayya and Sreeleela; it was tied to a bigger enemy that would affect the entire country. The Jana Nayagan trailer doesn't hide that fact either. In the H Vinoth directorial, we get Bobby Deol spearheading an operation called Om, which will 'put India under his feet'.
The film will end with a face-off between Vijay and Bobby Deol's characters in high-stakes action.
How will Jana Nayagan differ from Bhagavanth Kesari?
While the storylines of Balayya's Bhagavanth Kesari and Vijay's Jana Nayagan are strikingly similar, the two differ starkly in political messaging packaged as Tamil cinema.
One of the key reasons reported for Jana Nayagan's delay is its political theme, one that's not even hidden. It's blatant in championing Vijay's political ambitions. Right from naming himself TVK – after his political party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam – to calling out dynasty politics, several sequences from the trailer itself play like his political manifesto.
Another striking scene in the trailer shows Vijay's character walking away from the light, with two elephants blaring on either side, reminding everyone of the TVK party symbol.
Jana Nayagan's release was timed three months ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Election, Vijay's first-ever electoral contest, in which his party emerged as the single largest in Tamil Nadu. Had it released in January as scheduled, the film could indeed have proved influential in the election.
Vijay, after 33 years in cinema, is bidding goodbye to the very industry that catapulted him to the CM chair, with Jana Nayagan as his farewell film. While there were unconfirmed reports of him considering doing another film, he sort of made it clear that he wouldn't, as he marched towards a bigger purpose. And this line from the trailer, which goes, "I have no intention of turning back. I am coming," is a testament to his political career and a message to his detractors.
Jana Nayagan is no Bhagavanth Kesari, as the latter was just billed as a commercial entertainer. For Vijay, it's a political statement, a reminder of what he stands for as a leader and now as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu.
