Vijay Sethupathi to play Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan in biopic

With biopics being the rage today, Vijay Sethupathi has jumped on the bandwagon. According to reports, the actor will portray Muttiah Muralitharan in a biopic on the celebrated cricketer's life. Tentatively titled 800, the film will be directed by MS Sripathi and backed by DAR Motion Pictures. 

According to a report in Cinemaexpress.com, the actor has been signed on to play the role of the legendary Sri Lankan off spinner who went on to become the highest wicket-taker in Test matches and one-day internationals. Muttiah Muralitharan has claimed 800 wickets in Test matches and 503 wickets in one-day internationals for Sri Lanka. 

In his statement, Sethupathi said, "Portraying the role of Murali is going to be a challenge for me and I am looking forward to it. Am delighted that Murali himself will be closely involved with the project and guiding me on the cricketing aspects. I am thankful to both Murali and the producers for the faith bestowed on me." 

Muttiah Muralitharan too welcomed the actor's participation in the project, saying, "I am glad to be collaborating with Dar Motion Pictures on the film. We are looking at a late 2020 release date. I have been actively collaborating with the creative team for the past several months and I will continue to support this project through its duration." 

Producers DAR Motion Pictures is likely to partner another major Tamil production studio for the venture. 

The film will be Vijay Sethupathi's first venture in cricket-based films. It will join the list of upcoming cricket-related films like Kabir Khan's '83, Abhishek Sharma's The Zoya Factor. 

Tentatively titled 800, the film is expected to be released in 2020.