'Vijay Sethupathi's Family Was Threatened': Muttiah Muralitharan On Actor's Exit From Biopic '800'

Retired cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan opened up about Vijay Sethupath’s exit from 800 the movie. For the unversed, 800 is the biopic based on the life of Muttiah Muralitharan and Vijay Sethupathi was the first choice to play the role. However, the announcement that the Jawan actor would be essaying the role of the Sri Lankan cricketer was met with a massive social media and political outrage. Eventually, Muralitharan replaced Sethupathi with Madhur Mittal, best known for his work in Slumdog Millionaire and Million Dollar Arm.

Speaking about Sethupathi’s exit, Muralitharan said that Vijay’s family was being threatened and the actor was under immense pressure. Opening up about roping him in the first place, the cricketer told Zoom TV that the film’s director, M.S. Sripathy, suggested Sethupathi’s name for the role.

“During my time at IPL, my director mentioned that Vijay Sethupathi was staying in the same hotel for a shoot. He offered to arrange a meeting, and although initially unsure, Vijay, being a fan of mine as a cricketer, agreed to meet. He allotted two hours five days later, post 8 p.m., for a narration of the script. After hearing it, he expressed genuine enthusiasm for the film, stating that he wouldn’t pass up such a unique opportunity and was eager to be part of the project. Subsequently, we sealed the deal with him, and the production house also came on board,” he said.

The cricketer said that the outrage led to Sethupathi’s exit. “He was under tremendous pressure, and they were threatening Vijay’s family also,” he said. “This movie is a sports movie, and it’s not related to anything political or anything else, but it’s just a true story of a man,” Muralitharan added.

For those unaware, outrage was sparked in 2020, shortly after Sethupathi’s casting was announced. Many people, including policitians, objected the Tamil actor playing Muralitharan following the claims that the Sri Lankan star supported his country government during the civil war with the LTTE. Eventually, Sethupathi issued a statement confirming his exit from the project.

Meanwhile, 800 the movie is set to release on October 6 in Tamil, English, Sinhala, and other languages.