The ‘800’ saga: Controversies surrounding Muttiah Muralidaran biopic


Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi took to Twitter to announce the launch of 800, a biopic on former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan. A week later, the actor announced his official exit from the project following several criticism and remarks made on him.
The lead actor got praised for his recent performances in movies such as 96 and Super Delux. The 42-year old was also lauded for his first look for the film, the moment he shared the poster on the internet.
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Two days later, ace filmmaker Bharathiraja, known for his Tamil nationalist sympathies, wrote an open letter to Sethupathi. He requested Vijay to drop out of the project. In the letter, Bharathiraja wrote that Muralitharan was a traitor of the Tamil race for the way he conducted himself during the civil war. He used the reference of the war that ended with the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.
Muralitharan denied all allegations

The veteran spinner ruled out the allegations made on him for supporting the killings of innocent Tamils.
“I had said that in 2009 – to be the happiest day in my life, having in mind the end of the war and loss of lives on both sides. This (his remark) is being twisted as, ‘The day Tamils were killed and heaped was the happiest day in my life’,” he clarified.
“I had never supported the killing of innocents, and I would never do (ever). I know the pain of war and I grew up in Sri Lanka amid war for over 30 years. My father was hacked when I was seven. Many times we were on the street,” Muralitharan added.
The ‘800’ number in the film title signifies the number of Test wickets that Muttiah Muralitharan took in his career. In a career which lasted from 1992 to 2010, the Sri Lankan created various world records. He has the highest number of wickets in Tests and One Day Internationals (ODIs) to his name.
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Sachin Arora
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