Tamil star Sethupathi to portray Muralitharan in biopic

Popular Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi will essay the role of legendary Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in the upcoming biopic '800'.

The motion poster release of the film will be launched with Muralitharan and Sethupathi on October 13 on Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Tamil from 6 pm ahead of the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and SunRisers Hyderabad.

To be directed by M S Sripathy, '800' is the number of wickets taken by Muralitharan in Test matches -- the most by any bowler in Test history.

Speaking on Star Sports' pre-match show 'Cricket LIVE' about how he felt about Vijay Sethupathi playing his role in the biopic, Muralitharan said, "Once the script was ready, we thought the best fit for this movie is none other than Vijay Sethupathi. I think he is a very talented actor and he will nail the bowling expressions.

"I trust Vijay completely as he is one of the greatest actors and I have complete faith that he’ll definitely do wonders for the film," he added.

On his part, Sethupathi said it was nice to listen and spend time with Muralitharan.

"He is like a stamp, he makes a mark wherever he goes with his charming character and personality. I love his real life, because fans have seen him in matches on the field, but very few have got a chance to know Murli sir's personality off the field. He’s very adorable and lovable. He’s such a beautiful person and his story needs to be told."

The film will be shot in Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India. The shoot will start at the beginning of 2021 and the movies is set to release at the end of 2021.

The film will be made primarily in the Tamil. However, owing to Muralitharan and Sethupathi's popularity, it will also be dubbed in all South Indian languages, as well as Hindi, Bengali, and Sinhalese.

An international version with English subtitles is also being planned.