Jana Nayagan
Jana Nayagan (Tamil pronunciation: [dʑanaː n̪aːjagan]; transl. People's Hero) is a 2026 Indian Tamil-language political action thriller film directed by H. Vinoth and produced by Venkat K. Narayana under KVN Productions. The film stars C. Joseph Vijay, Bobby Deol, Pooja Hegde and Mamitha Baiju in the lead role alongside Nassar, Prakash Raj, Gautham Vasudev Menon, Narain, and Priyamani.
The film is a partial remake of the 2023 Telugu film Bhagavanth Kesari. It marked Vijay's final film appearance before entering politics and was the first of his films to be released after he assumed office as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. It also marked KVN Productions' first Tamil-language production.
The film follows a former IPS police officer who raises the daughter of a deceased friend and encourages her to overcome childhood trauma and pursue a career in the Indian Army. His efforts later draw him into a confrontation with corrupt individuals, including a former ACP, whose actions threaten democratic institutions.
The film was officially announced in September 2024 under the tentative title Thalapathy 69, due to it being Vijay's 69th film as a lead actor, and the official title was announced in January 2025. Principal photography commenced in October 2024 in Chennai continued by a schedule in Payanoor, which was again followed by two additional schedules also held at the former location, and wrapped by August 2025. The film has music composed by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography handled by Sathyan Sooryan and editing by Pradeep E. Ragav.
Initially scheduled for release on 9 January 2026, the release of the film was delayed for several months due to issues between the producers and the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The entire film was leaked online on 9 April 2026 and widely pirated and distributed illegally, leading to the producers to seek legal action against social media accounts that shared clips or links to the film. The film was reported to have become a loss-making venture even before its release, largely due to the online leak. In July, the censorship issues were rectified and the film was released worldwide on 23 July 2026 to mixed reviews with praise to performance of Vijay, while criticism for the screenplay, 2nd half and climax.