CHENNAI: Unlike a few Tamil films that ran into controversies such as Kamal Haasan's 'Virumaandi' or Santhosh Sivan's 'Inam', which had to be pulled out of theatres within a couple of days in 2013, Vijay Sethupathi pulled out of '800', Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan's biopic, before shooting began. The appeal from leading personalities of the Tamil film industry, who accused Murali of "betraying" the Tamils in Sri Lanka, seems to have weighed with the actor in taking the final call. "Ever since Vijay Sethupathi agreed to do this film, there has been a disconnect among his close friends too. While the actor is in a tizzy, his friends too were at loggerheads," said a source, close to the star.
There was appreciation from sections of the industry for Sethupathy's decision to withdraw, which came after Murali himself said he should. "Instead of trying to enhance his image as a hero further, Vijay Sethupathi as usual has opted for a simple 'Nandri Vanakkam' in response to those who approached him on behalf of the Tamils and retained the love of the people in a dignified way," said director R Seenu Ramasamy, who had made films with Vijay Sethupathi and is one of the industry stalwarts who appealed to the actor earlier to withdraw.
Times View
Actor Vijay Sethupathi has been browbeaten into submission by a handful of people who thought his playing the role of veteran Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan in the Tamil movie ‘800’ would tantamount to glamourising a racist. While Murali’s alleged indifference – or antipathy, as some believe – to the plight of the Lankan Tamils during the 25-year strife that claimed about a lakh lives remains a topic of debate, stopping an actor from donning a role is the height of hypocrisy. While politicians often have an axe to grind on such matters of Tamil nationalism, proponents of cinema themselves (in this case directors Bharathiraja and Cheran) stopping a colleague from answering a professional call speaks of double standards and crass bigotry. It is another matter if the actor rejected the role on his own. That’s what London-based actor-musician Teejay Arunasalam, who was offered the role of the young Murali, did. Teejay, whose mother is a Lankan Tamil, said his sensibilities didn’t allow him to take up the offer. Fair enough. In Vijay Sethupathi’s case, it is not enough to blame just those who spoke against him, but also those who remained silent. Kamal Haasan, the righteous man wronged when his Dasavatharam ran into trouble, hasn’t spoken up on the subject. Rajinikanth continues his maun vrat on everything important. The only notable Tamil actors who spoke in support of Vijay Sethupathi was Sarathkumar and his wife Radhikaa. Kudos to them! For those on the Kollywood high horses, here’s Martin Luther King Jr: There comes a time when silence is betrayal.
"This has been achieved more by appeal than by force. Whether it was directors Bharathiraja or Cheran and lyricists Vairamuthu or Thamarai, everyone only appealed to the actor to consider giving the movie a pass. With a long career ahead and so much at stake, it was not worth the risk for Vijay Sethupathi too," said Tamil Film Active Producers' Association (TFAPA) vice-president G Dhananjayan.
In the case of 'Inam', Santhosh Sivan could not handle the content in the right way and the film had to be pulled out of theatres in three days, resulting in huge losses to director-producer N Lingusamy. "Let any other actor from any other Indian language act in '800'. We will not be bothered since we are not going to watch it. But how can a leading Tamil actor portray on screen a betrayer," Dhananjayan said.
Director Cheran, who vehemently appealed to Vijay Sethupathi earlier, preferred not to comment further. "I do not want to comment further on this. We appealed and he has withdrawn," Cheran told TOI.