The Controversy Around Muttiah Muralitharan’s Biopic
The Sri Lankan cricketer, Muttiah Muralitharan, has announced the filming of his biopic "800" which has left the people in South India in outrage.
Sri Lankan cricket star, Muttiah Muralitharan, planned a film about his life which is yet to be released. However, the biopic received considerable backlash in South India to such an extent that the main lead actor had to quit the movie.
“I’ve been in so many controversies, not just cricketing. I have got through hurdles. This is just one of the many challenges I’ve faced,” says the 48-year-old of the uproar around the film.
Muttiah Muralitharan was a Sri Lankan belonging to the Tamils managed to defy all odds by making it to the national cricket team even though there was a long civil war going on between Tamil separatists and the Sinhalese-majority security forces.
The cricketer further found himself in a bowling controversy, as he was no bowled for chucking in Australia, and moved on becoming one of the most formidable bowlers in the cricketing world. Muttiah Muralitharan’s biopic is titled “800,” indicating his record-breaking 800 Test Match wickets.
The filming for Muttiah Muralitharan’s biopic is yet to begin, however, when a teaser of the movie’s poster was released of Indian actor Vijay Sethupathi in the lead role there was a massive outpouring of anger. The hashtag #ShameOnVijaySethupathi was trending across the state of Tamil Nadu, with many demanding that he turns down the role.
While the biopic’s producers believe that it is a sports biography and an influential masterpiece that will inspire the youth, critics, however, fear that this biopic could take a wrongful turn and become a controversial political issue.
The hate stemmed from Muttiah Muralitharan’s comments at a presidential event where he celebrated the end of the 2009 war and supported the candidacy of Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Approximate 40,000 Sri Lankan Tamil civilians are believed to have lost their lives in the last stages of the 2009 war; and it has been a sensitive issue ever since.
“Even though Muttiah Muralitharan is a Tamil, he does not behave as a Tamil, and we don’t want him to enter Tamil Nadu in any form; whether in person or on film,” said V Prabha, a youth activist based in Chennai.
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