'800' Controversy: Vijay Sethupathi Withdraws From Muthiah Muralidharan's Biopic

Actor Vijay Sethupathi has hinted that he is withdrawing from the former Sri Lankan cricketer, Muthiah Muralidharan's biopic, "800". Ever since the film has announced, several political parties and Tamil nationalist sympathizers along with many popular personalities from the Tamil film industry have claimed that the movie is an attempt to whitewash a figure who is problematic in Sri Lanka, and thus, they have been asking for a boycott of the film.

In a statement on Monday, Muralidharan said he had asked Vijay Sethupathi to withdraw from the project to ensure the actor's career is not affected by the association. Muralitharan said that the film was facing hurdles as he had in many aspects of like. But he said that he was confident the hurdles would be overcome.



Sharing the statement of the cricketer, Sethupathi hinted that he has accepted his proposal of withdrawing from the film. He wrote, "Thank you and goodbye" (translated from Tamil).

நன்றி.. வணக்கம் 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/PMCPBDEgAC

— VijaySethupathi (@VijaySethuOffl) October 19, 2020

Earlier, on October 16, the legendary cricketer issued a statement over the controversy. In the statement, which was written in Tamil, he stated that his life has been marred by controversies and this is no different.



"When the production house approached me for the film, I was first reluctant to give my nod. I then thought that the film would highlight the struggle of my parents, the contribution of my coaches and teachers, and everyone who has been part of my journey. My family had its humble beginnings in a tea estate in Sri Lanka. The most affected in the 30-year long civil war in Sri Lanka was the Hill Country Tamils. Our life began in a conflict zone", he said.

"The film '800' talks about how I overcame all these hurdles and managed to succeed in cricket. Is it my fault that I was born a Sri Lankan Tamil? If I was born in India, I would have definitely tried to be part of the Indian team. Since I am part of the Sri Lankan team, I have always been misunderstood. An unnecessary controversy has erupted saying that I am against Tamils, thus giving the film, a political color", Murali added.

From the Desk of #MuthiahMuralidaran#800TheMovie @MovieTrainMP #MuthiahMuralidaranBioPic pic.twitter.com/kNAnQeJXB5

— Yuvraaj (@proyuvraaj) October 16, 2020

On the allegations of his support to the Sri Lankan government, Murali said, "There have been many allegations leveled against me that I supported genocide. For instance, when I made a statement in 2019 that 2009 was the best year of my life, it was misconstrued that I was celebrating the genocide of Eelam Tamils. As someone who has constantly spent his life in a conflict zone, the end of the war in 2009, was a welcome change. I was happy that there were no deaths on both sides in those ten years".

"I have never supported genocide, and I never will. As a minority community living in Sinhalese-majority Sri Lanka, Tamils battled low self- esteem. My parents considered themselves as second-class citizens and it was only natural that I too followed suit. After I succeeded in cricket, I wanted fellow Tamilians to develop self-confidence and come up in life".

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