DYK Vijay Was 'Pressured' To Pick Tamil Director For Final Film (Jana Nayagan)? Gopichand Malineni Opens A Can Of Worms

Gopichand Malineni is currently basking in the success of his Bollywood directorial debut, Jaat, starring Sunny Deol. Telugu director recently gave an interview to Telugu One, where he shared that he had originally planned to work on a Kollywood film with actor Thalapathy Vijay before Jaat but things didn't turn out as he planned. Krack maker revealed that Vijay liked his script but was reportedly under pressure to choose a Tamil director for the project instead.

Gopichand Malineni on Vijay’s last film

In the interview, Gopichand addressed the rumours about approaching Chiranjeevi for a film after the success of Veera Simha Reddy (2023). He clarified the situation by revealing that he had actually approached Vijay instead. “Immediately after Veera Simha Reddy, I wrote a story and narrated it to Vijay. He liked it so much that he approved it in one sitting,” he shared.

Gopichand further explained that although Vijay was ready for his story, external factors influenced the decision. Since Vijay had recently worked with a Telugu director, Vamshi Paidipally, on Varisu (2023), there was pressure for him to collaborate with a Tamil filmmaker for his next eventually his last project. “He was ready to announce it. But because this would become his last film before entering politics, his people pressured him to opt for a Tamil director rather than a Telugu one,” Gopichand stated.

After Vijay stepped back from the project, Gopichand considered casting Ravi Teja for the role. However, that plan has not materialised yet.

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Vijay’s upcoming film Jana Nayagan

After the release of the 2024 film The Greatest of All Time by Venkat Prabhu, Vijay grabbed attention with the announcement of his political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). His final film, Jana Nayagan, features Vijay, Pooja Hegde, and Bobby Deol in lead roles, supported by Gautham Vasudev Menon, Prakash Raj, Narain, Priyamani, Mamitha Baiju, Monisha Blessy, and Varalaxmi Sarathkumar. The film is set to release on January 9, 2026.