Vijay Sethupathi plays Muttiah Muralitharan in 800.After the motion poster of the Muttiah Muralitharan biopic 800, starring Vijay Sethupathi as the Sri Lankan cricketer, came out on Tuesday, the hashtag #ShameOnVijaySethupathi started trending on social media. People were upset with the actor for playing a cricketer who hails from a country which has oppressed Tamils.
Now, the production house Dar Motion Pictures has issued a statement clarifying that 800 is “purely a sports biography” and does not make any political statement.
According to the makers, 800 is the journey of a man who became the highest wicket-taker of all time. “It came to our notice that our film ‘800’, the biopic of Muthiah Muralitharan featuring Vijay Sethupathi in the lead, is being politicized in many ways. However, we want to clarify that 800 is purely a sports biography film about the legendary cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan. The film is a journey about a man who hails from the Tamil migrant community, going on to become the highest wicket taker of all time. The film does not make any political statement favouring any community,” the statement read.
The biopic, written and directed by MS Sripathy, is being touted as “an inspiration for the young generation to achieve their dreams irrespective of the difficulties they come across in their journey.” The makers have assured that 800 “will not showcase any scenes that would belittle the struggles of Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka or hurt their sentiments in any way.”
The statement further read, “On a positive note, the film will engage the Tamil film community in Sri Lanka providing the artistes and technicians a platform to showcase their talents on a global stage. Art is beyond boundaries. It unites people all across. Artistes belong to the world. We wish to spread only positivity, love and hope.”
800 will be shot in Tamil, but the producers have plans to release the movie in several languages across the world.
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