Chennai: Tamil movie actor Vijay Sethupathi said Monday everything is over as regards Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s biopic 800. Earlier in the day Muralitharan in a statement said that he had requested Vijay Sethupathi to leave the project since he is being pressured by some groups.
Speaking to reporters here, Sethupathi said everything is over and that is why he had tweeted ‘thanks’ and ‘vannakam’ after posting Muralitharan’s statement. Sethupathi was set to play the legendary off-spinner in the biopic 800.
Tamil fringe groups and political parties sympathetic to Liberation Tigers for Tamil Eelam (LTTE) demanded that Sethupathi excuse himself from the movie citing Muralitharan’s political stand. The opposition is due to Muralitharan’s utterings which are allegedly in favour of the Sri Lanka’s ruling regime.
According to Muralitharan, his views were twisted for political reasons. Muralitharan said he does not want Sethupathi’s career to be affected.
People such as Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram, actor-turned politician and founder of All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi R Sarathkumar and his wife and actor Radhikaa Sarathkumar had voiced their support for Sethupathi, the Tamil movie world was largely silent.
Even the South Indian Artists’ Association, popularly known as ‘Nadigar Sangam’, the body representing the interests of actors, maintained a studied silence on the issue.
Muralitharan had earlier said he had overcome many obstacles in life to achieve success and he would certainly get the ‘better of this one to’. In his statement he indicated that the makers of the film were in the final stages of roping in another actor to play his role.
