The trailer for Tamil superstar Thalapathy Vijay’s upcoming film Jana Nayagan became the centre of an online controversy after fans noticed a Google Gemini AI logo watermark in one of its scenes. The trailer was released on Saturday ahead of the movie’s scheduled theatrical release on January 9, 2026.
Viewers spotted the tiny Google Gemini logo, a watermark associated with Google’s AI tool briefly appearing during an action shot in the trailer, especially at around the 23-second mark. The clip shows Vijay’s character in a fight sequence, and the logo was visible in the bottom-right corner of the frame before being removed later.
After the logo was widely shared on social media, especially on X (formerly Twitter), many fans reacted strongly. Some criticised the filmmakers for using AI-generated visuals and leaving the logo by mistake, calling it a “rookie error” and even an “insult to cinema” given the film’s huge reported budget of around ₹400 crore.
Other viewers expressed disappointment, saying that a big project like Jana Nayagan expected to be Vijay’s final film before his full-time entry into politics should not make such a basic editing oversight.
Although the Gemini logo was later removed from the trailer, the footage and screenshots had already spread widely online, triggering debates about the use of AI in mainstream films and quality control in post-production.
Directed by H. Vinoth and featuring an ensemble cast including Pooja Hegde, Bobby Deol, Priyamani and others, Jana Nayagan has generated strong excitement among fans, but the logo mishap has added an unexpected controversy to its launch.