It was in April 2016 that Puri Jagannadh first announced 'Jana Gana Mana' with Mahesh Babu.  “You all know my love for Mahesh. I assure you that this time he will be more ruthless than 'Pokiri' and more powerful than 'Businessman'," the director had then said on Twitter.  To this day, the project hasn't taken off, much less with the 'Bharat Ane Nenu' star.  It has become clear that Mahesh will never do the film.  

Last year, after he was interrogated for 10 hours by the SIT probing the drug abuse scandal, Puri once again spoke of the movie, saying that its caption will be this: 'I love India, but I hate Indians'.

In his latest interview, ahead of the release of 'Mehbooba', the dashing director has claimed that 'Jana Gana Mana' will be made for sure.  Apparently, its script has been fine-tuned in the wake of some recent incidents like the Kathua rape tragedy.  It's not clear as to when the fiery social drama will go on the floors.  The buzz is that Puri wants to do another film with his son Akash Puri as the hero.