Vijay Sethupathi opts out of Muttiah Muralitharan biopic on cricketer's request

The first motion poster of legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner's biopic – 800 – starring Vijay Sethupathi in the lead role, created a lot of buzz as soon as it was dropped. As things turned out, the actor is no more a part of the film. Following widespread outrage from a section of film personalities, politicians and other quarters in the state, actor Vijay Sethupathi has decided to opt out of a biopic of Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan. 

The film, titled 800, was caught up in a controversy over Sethupathi’s decision to play Muralitharan, who allegedly supported the Lankan government during the civil war with the LTTE. Despite the Sri Lankan off-spinner trying to clarify that he never treated Eelam Tamils with disrespect, many point out there is footage suggesting the cricketer’s seemingly supportive stand for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the island-nation’s President who was the war-time defence secretary. 

Many known personalities of the state had urged the actor to pull out of the project. On Monday, Muralitharan issued a statement asking Sethupathi to back out from the project. Thanking the cricketer, Sethupathi shared the statement. 

Talking about a section that is “imposing pressure on actor Vijay Sethupathi to withdraw himself from the movie due to the wrong notions surrounding me,” Muralitharan said he doesn’t want an artiste from Tamil Nadu to suffer because of him. The former international spinner said the movie, planned as an inspiration for future generations, will materialise and that the producers have assured him that further information regarding the project will be announced soon. “I will stand with them,” Muralitharan stated. 

While everyone knows about Muralitharan’s on-field exploits, very few are aware that he holds an Indian citizenship. Muralitharan holds an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and thus does not need a visa to come to the country. The reason for this special status is because Muttiah Muralitharan’s family originates from India. His grandfather, Periyasamy Sinasamy came from South India to work in the tea plantations of central Sri Lanka in 1920.