11 April,2026 12:32 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Pooja Hegde on Jana Nayagan`s online leaka
Actress Pooja Hegde, who headlines Jana Nayagan as its female lead, has expressed deep concern over the film's online leak. During the late hours of April 9, a small footage of the film was found to have been leaked, after which it was discovered that the full film had leaked online.
Taking to her Instagram stories, the actress expressed being disheartened over the film's leak, stating that it is tough to see this incident occur as it takes away the respect that every artist and technician on the film deserves. Pooja Hegde even appealed to the audience to wait for the film's theatrical release and celebrate Thalapathy Vijay's last film the right way.
"To my lovely audience. A film is the result of countless hours, creative risks, personal sacrifices, and a team that showed up every single day hoping to give you the best experience possible. Seeing our film leaked online is disheartening, not just for me, but for every single person who worked on it," she shared.
"To see it being leaked and shared illegally is tough - not because of numbers, but because it takes away the respect that every artist and technician on the film deserves...plus don't we all deserve to gather together to celebrate and watch Vijay sir's last film, one last time, on the big screen in the right way! So let's watch it the right way. Let's wait. It will be out in due time. Let's not encourage piracy. That's how cinema and art will survive," she added.
Pooja Hegde's post comes after several celebrities expressed concern over Jana Nayangan's leak. Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Suriya Sivakumar, Vijay Devarakonda, Vignesh Shivan and Sivakarthikeyan, among others, have expressed deep concern, outrage and have even demanded strict action against the wrongdoers. The makers of the film have also issued a strong statement, warning of legal consequences.
"It has come to our notice that certain scenes and clips from the said film, and in some cases most of the film, have been illegally accessed, copied and circulated by unidentified persons, posing a serious threat of digital piracy," they said and added that "strict civil and criminal proceedings will be pursued against every offender without exception."
Starring Pooja Hegde, Jana Nayagan is a much-awaited film and is said to be Thalapathy Vijay's farewell project as he quits films. Directed by H.Vinoth, the film also stars Mamitha Baiju, Bobby Deol and Priyamani.
