3 min readHyderabadApr 13, 2026 09:08 PM IST
The Southern India Film Editors Association came forward on Monday to address one of the more damaging controversies to hit Tamil cinema recently, the online leak of the much-anticipated Vijay film Jana Nayagan, before its official theatrical release.
Gopikrishna, president of the association, said that editor Pradeep E. Raghav, who has worked on more than 25 films, should not be held responsible for what happened. “The editor and a few others are being blamed, making it seem as though something untoward occurred,” he said.
The association clarified that what leaked was not a finished, release-ready print of the film. It was a watermarked Digital Intermediate file, labeled “For Edit Reference,” sent to the editor for review during post-production. “If they really wanted it edited, we’d have a clean cut without any watermark. We actually have a watermark-free HD 2K print,” Gopikrishna said, making the point that the nature of the file itself rules out deliberate intent to release the film.
He explained how the file came to exist in the first place. Jana Nayagan had faced rejection from the Central Board of Film Certification, following which the team revised CGI shots at Nag Studio in Chennai. The updated footage was then sent to Annapurna Studios in Hyderabad for five-language sound mixing. “They sent this file to them. That video has now leaked online,” he said.
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On the question of motive, Gopikrishna was direct. “All the editors here want to work as editors in a top actor’s film. So beyond money, beyond other things, beyond struggles and losses, if you want an example of the kind of relationship they have, look at Vijay sir. How can someone like Pradeep Raghav just come and say they don’t want to be in the relationship and walk away? Would they really do that? No way. It’s more than just a movie. It’s about respect. It’s about respect that goes beyond money.”
He also shared that roughly 300 to 400 people working on Jana Nayagan’s post-production. “Everyone is working under the trust’s name. No one wants to ruin their career, so no one has any say in this. This is because someone did something wrong behind the scenes.”
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With both the Chennai police and cybercrime police actively investigating, the association’s final message to the public was clear. “Until the accused is identified, and until it’s clear who did it, please don’t jump to conclusions or spread rumours. Until the police have thoroughly investigated this matter and provided a definitive response, please refrain from labelling anyone as a criminal or causing them distress.”
