Explained: Why Tamil Star Vijay Sethupathi Is Facing Wrath Of Fans Over Muttiah Muralitharan's Biopic '800'?

Fans are upset that Tamil star Sethupathi agreed to play the central role of the Tamil-origin cricketer who never spoke out against the alleged atrocities that the Sri Lankan government is said to have inflicted on the country's Tamil population in the past.

Photo Courtesy: Instagram/ AFP

Former Sri Lankan great bowler Muttiah Muralitharan's biopic is getting fiercely opposed. Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi, who agreed to play the lead role in the film '800', is also facing severe criticism on social media ever since the motion poster of '800' was launched. While some political parties and popular personalities in the Tamil film industry alleged that Muralitharan betrayed the Tamils so Sethupathi should not work in his biopic, netizens used the hashtag #ShameOnVijaySethupathi to express their disappointment and anger.

Fans are upset that Tamil star Sethupathi agreed to play the central role of the Tamil-origin cricketer who never spoke out against the alleged atrocities that the Sri Lankan government is said to have inflicted on the country's Tamil population in the past.

Tamils ​​were tortured in Sri Lanka

Actually, there are Tamil minorities in Sri Lanka. The Tamil population has been the victim of atrocities from the Sinhalese population there for years. Civil war was fought in Sri Lanka from 1983 to 2009 in which a large number of Tamil people were killed. After this, a large Tamil population has been in India as a refugee. In such a situation, people are opposing the biopic saying that Vijay Sethupathi should not work in the biopic of a cricketer from a country, where the Tamils ​​were treated so badly.

Muttiah Muralitharan's official statement on '800' controversy

"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 have 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 were the Hill Country Tamils. Our life began in a conflict zone. 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 colour." On the allegations of his support to the Sri Lankan government, Murali said, "There have been many allegations levelled 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."

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

— Yuvraaj (@proyuvraaj) October 16, 2020

Sharing the work he has done to support Eelam Tamils, Murali said, "I have not discriminated anyone on the basis of their race, be it Sinhalese, Eelam Tamils or Hill Country Tamils. When I was an ambassador at the UN in 2002, I introduced a number of schemes to school children in the hitherto LTTE-controlled areas and contributed to relief programmes in Tsunami-affected regions. Eelam Tamils are well aware of that. Through my NGO Foundation of Goodness, I have been providing my support to Eelam Tamils in children's education and welfare of women. There is ample evidence to prove all this. I am not someone who talks about the philanthropic work I do."

The motion poster release of this film was released on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Tamil with Muralitharan and Sethupathi ahead of the Indian Premier League match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad on 13 October. Former Sri Lankan spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan revealed Vijay Sethupathi was unanimously selected for the biopic '800' made on him.

Muralitharan also said that he is confident that Tamil actor Sethupathi will do justice to his character. Last week, Sethupathi had said that he felt honored to work in Muralitharan's biopic. Muralitharan has taken the highest 800 wickets in the history of Test cricket, so the film has been named "800".