“800” is a biopic about Muthiah Muralidaran, the legendary Sri Lankan off-spinner who is the only bowler in International Test cricket history to have taken 800 wickets.
In the past few years, there have been numerous biopics of famous sports figures in Indian cinema. Recent biopics on cricketing greats include MS Dhoni’s (‘MS Dhoni: An Untold Story’) and Kapil Dev’s (’83’).
“800,” on the other hand, differs from previous biopics in that it tells a more complex story, not just about cricket, but also about Sri Lanka’s complicated politics, the Eelam fight, racism, sense of belonging, and so on.
MS Sripathy and Shehan Karunatilaka present the screenplay in a way that gradually reveals how Muttiah Muralitharan, born in a Tamil family in Sri Lanka, faced many problems in his life, both in his home country and abroad. Taking wickets was easy for him, but constantly fighting to prove his fair talent in a “unfair world” was the most mentally draining experience of his life. With his narration, the director establishes this fact.
The film begins by telling the story of how the British introduced cricket to Sri Lanka and how and why Tamil labor migrated to Sri Lanka. The first half of the film is devoted to Muttiah Muralitharan ‘s childhood and his struggles to make it to the national cricket team. Finding a place in the national team for a Sri Lankan with Tamil ancestors is difficult. While the film exposes the politics, it does not portray Sri Lankans as villains. In fact, the film also pays homage to legendary Sri Lankan cricketers such as Arjuna Ranatunga (team captain) and Aravind De Silva.
While the spinner’s incredible talent is highlighted in this biopic, the actual cricket game is given less attention. The ‘chucking’ controversy in Muttiah Muralitharan’s cricket career, as well as the politics of Australia teams and some Western empires, are depicted in an interesting way.
While there is a lot of drama in Muttiah Muralitharan’s life, director Sripathy has not packaged the film in a more gripping manner. As a result, the film lacks the ‘cinematic experience’ that the other biopics did. This is the main drawback. The other issue is that there are no “wow moments” in the film. The cricket game episodes are shot in a documentary style rather than a cinematic style.
Muttaih’s marriage to a Chennai girl is also told in a straightforward manner. The director has not used the romantic aspect of the cricketer’s story to ‘dramatize’ it. The emotional sequences are also effective at crucial places.
Muralitharan says he has spent his entire life trying to right wrongs and hints that he is exhausted by the struggle. The struggle of one man to be a hero and be himself in an unfair world is the true theme of this film, which I found interesting despite the film’s occasional dullness.
Madhur Mittal has donned Muralitharan’s role and he is totally convincing. He holds our attention with his sincere performance and being the spinner. The casting for roles of other cricketers like Arjuna Rantunga is apt.
Bottom line: There’s more to “800” than just celebrating a great cricketer’s record number of wickets. It deals with issues of politics, identity, and the Sri Lankan-Tamil conflict, among other things. This is a Muralitharan biography that few people know about. This is an earnest and honest attempt, even if the film’s focus on Lankan and Tamil politics and identities may not click with the Telugu viewers.
Rating: 2.75/5
Jalapathy Gudelli
Movie: 800
Cast: Madhurr Mittal, Mahima Nambiyar, and others
Written by: MS Sripathy & Shehan Karunatilaka
Music: Ghibran
DOP: RD Rajasekar ISC
Editor: Praveen KL
Action: Don Ashok
Sports Choreography: Dhruv Panjabi
Produced by: Movie Tran and Vivek Rangachari
Directed by: MS Sripathy
Release Date: Oct 06, 2023
