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Actor Vijay Sethupathi has, in the previous few days, confronted extreme criticism on social media for having agreed to play the lead position in 800, the biopic of Sri Lankan Tamil cricketing icon, Muttiah Muralitharan.
Sections of Tamil society and political events urged the actor not to be an element of the movie that celebrates the life and achievements of the cricketer.
Mr. Muralitharan’s remark in 2019 that “2009 was the happiest day in my life”, has been cited as proof of his support to the closing conflict in opposition to the Tamil insurgent group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in 2009, by which hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed, and his support to Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime, which continues to face critical allegations of conflict crimes.
Responding to criticism, the Sri Lankan cricketing legend on Friday mentioned his feedback about the finish of conflict in 2009 had been taken out of context.
In a press release in Tamil, Mr. Muralitharan mentioned, “In a country that has been at war, we don’t know what will happen and when. A friend who used to play with me in school would not be alive the next day. Those who leave the house would have to return home for us to be sure of their safety. From an ordinary citizen’s point of view, the end of war made me feel safe, and, in the last ten years, there haven’t been any deaths on either sides… I had this in my heart when I said that 2009 was a happy day in my life. I did not support the killings of innocent people and I would not do it,” he mentioned.
Mr. Muralitharan additionally denied reviews that he did not know Tamil and addressed the accusation in opposition to him that he had mentioned that Tamils have an inferiority advanced.
“It is natural to have an inferiority complex when you are a minority amid the Sinhala people. My parents and I had it. However, my interest in cricket pushed me to join the cricket team in my school and my talent made it impossible for others to ignore me. Which is why I said that our inferiority complex should be thrown away and we should trust our talent,” he mentioned.
Mr. Muralitharan mentioned that he considers all ethnicities as one and the identical.
“As a hill country Tamil, I have helped more Eelam Tamils than the hill country Tamils. I don’t like to talk about it, but I am being forced to do it. When I was the Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Program in 2002, the Eelam Tamils will remember, how I took the program to the schools in the regions controlled by the LTTE, and, then, later, to regions affected by the Tsunami,” he mentioned.
The off-spinner additionally mentioned that by means of his charity, the Foundation Of Goodness, he was concerned in a number of initiatives that supplied training to girls or ensured medical providers reached the Eelam Tamils. “We are also conducting a cricket competition called ‘Murali Harmony Cup’ in the north and south. Just because I made a name in the Sri Lankan cricket team, I have been unfairly portrayed. Had I been born in India, I would have tried to get into the Indian cricket team. Is it my fault that I was born a Sri Lankan Tamil?” he requested.
He mentioned he was saddened by those that are portraying him as somebody in opposition to the Tamils.
“Though I know that no amount of clarification will pacify those who oppose me, I am providing this clarification for the neutrals and the people who read one-sided news about me,” he mentioned.
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