Is 'Jana Nayagan' a remake? Here's what 'Bhagavanth Kesari' director Anil Ravipudi has to say

Director Anil Ravipudi has addressed the ongoing speculation surrounding Vijay’s upcoming film 'Jana Nayagan', carefully avoiding a direct confirmation on whether the film is a remake of his Telugu hit 'Bhagavanth Kesari'. Responding to a question at the press meet of 'Mana Shankara Vara Prasad Garu', Anil Ravipudi said, “Vijay sir is a gentleman. Whether I have any role in his farewell film or not will only be known after the film’s release. Until then, let us consider it purely as a Thalapathy Vijay film.” His measured response neither confirmed nor denied the remake claims, keeping the debate alive just weeks ahead of the film’s release.This utterance came as a part of the customary PR interview before the film's release where various questions about its content and filming methodology were posed the predominant one being the persistent rumour that 'Jana Nayagan' was a remake of 'Bhagavanth Kesari'. Anil Ravipudi’s calm response was commendable because he had the choice to either refute or concede, but he preferred to keep his respect for Vijay. His statement has reignited discussions online with different connotations held by fans.Speculation on the remake of ‘Jana Nayagan’ had been widely circulating since its announcement. Previously, the rumors were fuelled when actor VTV Ganesh revealed that Vijay had watched ‘Bhagavanth Kesari’ several times and had approached the film’s director Ravipudi to consider a remake in Tamil, which the director apparently refused. While this statement had kicked off further speculation on social media, the producers behind ‘Jana Nayagan’ have been tight-lipped without any official statement.Directed by H. Vinoth, 'Jana Nayagan' is set to debut on January 9 and is likely to be Vijay’s last movie before he plunges into the world of politics. His heroine is Pooja Hegde, and the villain is Bobby Deol. Mamitha Baiju, Narain, Priyamani, and Prakash Raj provide important supporting roles to the narrative. Anil Ravipudi’s recent dig hasn’t helped either, and we’ll only be sure when the film is released.