Muttiah Muralitharan biopic <i>800</i> the politics behind the controversy
b'In this episode, we discuss the politics around the film 800, the biopic on the legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan and his record of being the first bowler to take 800 Test wickets. This is a film that has been mired in controversy for some time and the latest flash point this week is when the noted actor Vijay Sethupathy pulled out of starring as Murali in the biopic, acting, it seems, upon the advice of Murali himself, who said that he didn\\u2019t want the actor\\u2019s career to be tarred by the controversy.\\nWhat is the controversy? While Muralitharan is a Sri Lankan Tamil who has roots in India, several groups have branded him a \\u201cbetrayer of Tamils\\u201d and alleged that the cricketer supported the killing of Tamil civilians during the armed conflict between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government. There are many more nuances and complications in this story.\\nGuest: Meera Srinivasan, Sri Lanka Correspondent, The Hindu.\\nFind the In Focus podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Stitcher. Search for In Focus by The Hindu.\\nWrite to us with comments and feedback at socmed4@thehindu.co.in'