'I have never supported killing of innocent people' - Muttiah Muralitharan responds to controversy over to his biopic '800'

The legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has landed in hot waters of late. The controversy erupted on the backdrop of his biopic ‘800’. The movie chronicles around his exemplary efforts to defy all odds to achieve his dream of representing his nation. The shooting of the film is yet to hit the floors. Charismatic South-Indian Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi will be essaying the role of the spin king.

Muralitharan has hogged headlines for his alleged silence over the Tamil-atrocities in the island nation. In the latest spur of developments, he has issued a much-anticipated statement on the ongoing matter. Clearing the air, the stalwart categorically pointed out that when approached about the biopic, he was initially reluctant. However, he later realised that the movie would recognize the contributions and innumerable sacrifices made by his parents and coaches.

Muttiah Muralitharan’s statement

He also mentioned that his family was severely affected by the violence against the Tamil-minority community. “Throughout the attacks on Tamils in the early 1970s, riots caused by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna insurrection and several bomb blasts, my family has been severely affected,” said Muralitharan according to Sri Lankan website Newswire.

Elucidating his beliefs, the cricket prodigy spoke at length about the incorrigible impact that the unprecedented armed violence had brought to his family. “My father was hacked when I was seven years old. My relatives have been killed and we have lost our livelihood and been left without anything on several occasions during the war. I’m aware of the loss and pain caused by the war and I lived through this. The movie ‘800’ is about how I survived the war and got selected for the Sri Lanka Cricket team,” he explained.

“School friends who played with me could be dead the next day. People who left the house, would not return… As an ordinary human being, the end of the civil war has given me a sense of security. There have been no killings on either side for a decade. It was with that in mind that I said 2009 was the happiest in my life. I have never supported the killing of innocent people and will never support it,” stressed Muttiah Muralitharan.

He further rubbished the allegation that he did not know Tamil. He also said that he always used to feel inferior but fought against it and worked hard to make it to Sri Lankan team at the highest leve. “I studied in Tamil medium school and can converse very well in Tamil. Since Tamils are a minority, they may feel inferior to the Sinhalese. Even I had an inferiority complex as my parents also felt so.

I fought against my inferiority complex and got placed in the Sri Lankan cricket team out of my passion and hard work. Similarly, I asked Tamil children not to feel inferior to the Sinhalese and to have faith in their talents,” Muralitharan further clarified.