Chennai: After days of pressure from fringe Tamil outfits and even sections of the film industry, actor Vijay Sethupathi on Monday said “it’s all over”, indicating that he will not play Muttiah Muralitharan in Sri Lankan cricketer’s biopic ‘800’.

Muralitharan in a statement on Monday asked the actor to withdraw from the film and to not jeopardize his career. “Nandri Vanakkam [thank you, farewell]”, tweeted the actor in response. “Nandri Vanakkam indicates that everything has come to an end. There is nothing more to talk about the film,” Sethupathi told reporters, after coming out of the residence of Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami. The actor had visited the CM’s residence to condole the death of EPS’s mother, who passed away last week. “It is all over. A full stop has been placed. There is nothing more to say,” Sethupathi said.

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Vijay Sethupathi pulled out of 800, the biopic on Sri Lankan spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan, on Monday. He announced his decision after Murali convinced him not to derail his career.

Several film personalities had urged Vijay to opt out, claiming the spinner had been against the Tamil Eelam (Independent Tamil state) during the civil war in the early ’80s and supported the Lankan government which reportedly committed genocide. Amid the raging controversy, Murali, himself a Sri Lankan Tamil, chose to clarify on Friday, saying the opposition to the movie stems from misunderstandings arising from the distortion of his statements in 2009, where he’d been quoted as saying it was the happiest year of his life. He claims he was misinterpreted and his comments should be considered from the perspective of an ordinary citizen caught in a war. “I see the Tamil people, the plantation workers, and Sinhala people as equals,” he asserted, adding that he’s never supported the killing of innocent Tamilians and was also a victim of the war.

He had earlier been reluctant to give the nod to the biopic but had consented, believing the world should know the contributions of those, including his parents, who had made him a cricketer. The M S Sripathy directorial was to kick off in early 2021.