Makkal Selvan Vijay Sethupathi was announced to play the lead role in the biopic of former cricketer Muttiah Muralidharan and the film was titled 800. The film's first look and motion poster created a huge controversy on social media and it made a big noise across the state. A lot of influential personalities from the state requested Vijay Sethupathi to opt out of the project due to the political controversies that have happened in the past. Despite the makers of the film clarifying that 800 will focus only on Muralidharan's cricketing journey, the opposition did not seem to be convinced. There were various speculations regarding the project. Following a long wait, it has now been revealed that Vijay Sethupathi will not act in the biopic of 800.

Vijay Sethupathi has obliged the request of Muttiah Muralidharan who asked the Soodhu Kavvum actor to opt out of the project to avoid problems in the future. Muralidharan has officially issued a statement in which he has said, "I am releasing this statement because of the controversies that have surrounded my biopic film 800. Due to a few misconceptions, there has been a huge opposition for Vijay Sethupathi and I am very much aware of this development. I will never want an impeccable talent like Vijay Sethupathi to face any such tough situations because of me. I hereby request him to withdraw from this film and focus on his other projects.

I do not want him to face any problems in his cinema journey in the coming years. I thought my story would be a source of inspiration for the youngsters and cricket aspirants and that is the reason why I agreed to make this biopic. I have complete faith on the production house who have assured that the film will be made. I will lend my support to them at any given juncture. My heartiest thanks to all the good hearted people who extended their support to me during this tough time".

Vijay Sethupathi shared the digital copy of this statement on his Twitter page, thereby confirming his exit from the film. This news has already created a huge buzz on social media. Check out Muttiah Muralidharan's official statement here:

நன்றி.. வணக்கம் 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/PMCPBDEgAC

— VijaySethupathi (@VijaySethuOffl) October 19, 2020