Vijay Sethupathi quits Muralitharan biopic, BJP's Kushboo Sundar stands in solidarity

Vijay Sethupathi has quit Sri Lankan cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan's biopic 800 after the latter wrote a statement on Monday asking the actor not to jeopardize his future prospects as some political parties in Chennai opposed the idea alleging that Muralitharan was a 'betrayer' of the Tamils. Sethupati shared Muralitharan's statement through his Twitter handle and wrote, "Nandri vanakkam" (Thank you, farewell.) clarifying further in his interaction with the media that "Nandri Vanakkam indicates that everything has come to an end. There is nothing more to talk about the film."

However, since the news of his portrayal of Muralitharan in 800 broke out, Twitter users - mainly angry Tamilians - had started issuing threats to the actor and his family, including against the actor's young daughter. Actor-politician Kushboo Sundar has reacted to reports of the threat and called it "barbaric". Taking to Twitter, a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu expressed solidarity with Vijay Sethupathi and lauded him for opting out of the controversial project.

Read | Muttiah Muralitharan urges Vijay Sethupati to step down from '800', read statement

Sundar also asserted that the threat to the actor's family must be investigated and that the culprit should be punished severely. Earlier on Tuesday, DMK's MP S Senthil Kumar also shared the obscene tweet and condemned the Twitter user saying, "Are they human beings? Kindly track this person and put him behind bars."

He also tagged CM Edappadi K Palaniswami and Chennai police's official Twitter handle. DMK MP Kanimozhi, also condemned the Twitter account user, whose account has since last night been suspended, saying, "The incident is not only barbaric but also very dangerous. Intimidation of women & children is the only weapon known to cowards. Stern action must be taken against the person who did this." 

Read | Vijay Sethupathi's daughter gets horrific threats online over 800 Muralitharan biopic row

Muralitharan's biopic likely to be shelved

The biopic titled 800 was announced last week and immediately burst into a controversy as several political parties argued that the veteran cricketer had made statements that were against the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils. Following the brewing controversy, MDMK Chief and MP Vaiko on Thursday had asked Vijay Sethupathi not to act as Muralitharan as the latter is a 'disappointment' for the Tamilians across the world. Moreover, legendary Tamil film director Bharathiraja too stepped in as he wrote an open letter to the actor urging him to quit the project. 

Read | 'I request Vijay Sethupathi to not act in Muttiah Muralitharan's biopic': MDMK chief Vaiko

However, on October 16, Muralitharan broke his silence on the matter and expressed displeasure over him being accused of being ‘against the Tamils’.  "Some people out of ignorance and some for political reasons are portraying me as against the Tamil race and it is anguishing," the veteran spinner said in a statement. The 48-year-old had clarified his comment, made in 2019, saying 2009 was the ‘happiest year' of his life. He stated that people were twisting his statement to being ‘happiest’ about the ‘slaughter of Tamils’, as he asserted that he had never endorsed the killing of innocent people. 

Read | 'Shame on Vijay Sethupathi' trends as Muralitharan biopic '800' announcement draws flak