After actor Vijay Sethupathi was subjected to strong criticism on social media for agreeing to star in a movie titled 800, a biopic on Sri Lankan cricketer Mutthiah Muralitharan, the film’s producer, Dar Motion Pictures, said the film is “purely a sports biography”.
The first look of the film was released a couple of days ago. In a statement, the production house said the film did not make any political statement favouring any community.
“This film is intended to be an inspiration for the younger generation to achieve their dreams irrespective of the difficulties they come across in their journey. We, as the producers, assure that this film will not showcase any scenes that will belittle the struggles of Eelam Tamils in Sri Lanka or hurt their sentiments in any way,” the statement said.
“On a positive note, the film will engage the Tamil film community in Sri Lanka, providing the artists and technicians a platform to showcase their talents on a global stage. Art is beyond boundaries; it unites people all across. Artists belong to the world,” it said.
Sympathisers of the ethnic Tamil struggle took to social media, tagging Mr. Sethupathi, urging him not to star as the cricketer “known to be a supporter of Mahinda Rajapaksa”, accused of presiding over a war in which thousands of Tamil civilians were killed.
