Muttiah Muralitharan biopic announced: This Indian actor to play legendary Sri Lankan off spinner

A biopic on legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is happening and an Indian actor will be essaying the role. Titled 800, the film will feature Vijay Sethupathi portraying the Sri Lanka spinner’s role. The development was confirmed by trade analyst and movie critic Taran Adarsh on Twitter. For those unaware, film’s title is a tribute to 800 Test wickets taken by the Sri Lankan.  

“IT'S OFFICIAL... #VijaySethupathi to star in cricketer #MuthiahMuralidaran biopic... Directed by #MSSripathy... Produced by Movie Train Motion Pictures and Dar Motion Pictures. #MuralidaranBiopic,” Adarsh tweeted. 

Muttiah Muralitharan is the only cricketer to have taken 800 wickets in Tests, comfortably ahead of Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, who has taken 708 wickets. He is also the mentor of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.  

Vijay Sethupathi aka ‘Makkal Selvan’ 

Vijay Sethupathi is known as ‘Makkal Selvan’ to his legion of fans in the Tamil film industry. He is one of the most versatile Tamil actor, essaying important roles in films like Vikram Vedha and Super Deluxe. He is also tipped to make Bollywood debut with Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha. Sethupathi gained fame in the 2016 police action thriller Sethupathi while his popularity went up a notch in the 2016 film Dharma Durai. 

Muralitharan an Indian citizen 

While everyone knows about Muralitharan’s on-field exploits, very few are aware that he holds an Indian citizenship. Muralitharan holds an Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) and thus does not need a visa to come to the country. The reason for this special status – Muttiah Muralitharan’s family originates from India. His grandfather, Periyasamy Sinasamy came from South India to work in the tea plantations of central Sri Lanka in 1920. 

In 2005, his India bond became deeper after he married Madhimalar Ramamurthy of Chennai. Madhimalar is the daughter of late Dr S. Ramamurthy of Malar Hospitals, and his wife Dr Nithya Ramamurthy.