Published 15:16 IST, October 8th 2020
Vijay Sethupathi to play Muttiah Muralitharan in Sri Lankan off-spinner's biopic; see post
Actor Vijay Sethupathi is all set to step into the shoes of Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in his biopic which will be directed by MS Sripathy.
South Indian actor Vijay Sethupathi is all set to step into the shoes of Sri Lankan off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan in his biopic. The actor shared the good news with fans on Instagram with a poster of the film. Directed by MS Sripathy, the film is based on the life and struggle of cricketing legend Muthiah Muralitharan. The poster also shows a silhouette of the cricketer while spinning a ball on the cricket pitch.
Vijay Sethupathi to play cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan in his biopic
While captioning the post, the actor wrote that he is honoured to be a part of the film and also aroused curiosity in fans by writing that he will share the updates soon. The film will be produced by Movie Train Motion Pictures and Dar Motion Pictures. Muttiah Muralitharan is considered one of the greatest bowlers in the history of cricket and the biopic is a tribute to the number of wickets he has taken in Test cricket matches.
Earlier, there were rumours doing the rounds that the film has been titled 800. However, the makers refrained from unveiling any other details regarding the biopic. The film was supposed to release worldwide in 2020, however, it has been postponed due to multiple reasons. The reason to name the film 800 was given as Muttiah Muralitharan is the only cricketer to have taken 800 wickets in Tests, comfortably ahead of Australia legspinner Shane Warne, who has taken 708 wickets. Considered the most versatile actor in the Tamil film industry, Sethupathi gained fame in the 2016 police action thriller Sethupathi while his popularity went up a notch in the 2016 film Dharma Durai.
Muttiah Muralitharan started his cricketing career in 1992 and in the course of 18 years, he is the only bowler to top the ODI and Test bowling charts with 534 and 800 wickets respectively. He has the most five-wicket and 10-wicket hauls in Tests by any bowler. Muralitharan took his 800th wicket when he dismissed Pragyan Ojha in the Galle Test of 2010 and immediately after that, he announced his retirement from Tests. The legendary spinner played three seasons for CSK from 2008 to 2010 before moving to the defunct Kochi Tuskers Kerala followed by the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Updated 15:15 IST, October 8th 2020