800 The Movie Review

Biopics on the lives of cricketers have been done quite a lot in Indian cinema, with every cricketer getting his underdog-to-superstar story on the screen. For a change, director MS Sripathy arrives with a different story to tell in the form of 800, which is Muttaih Muralidaran’s story on the big screen.

The film is a well-made and well-narrated account of Muralidaran’s life, and the events that took place in it right from his young days to his 800th wicket which was a hugely celebrated event. And the best part about the film is on how it does not shy away from the various mishaps that took place in his life – the politics he had to face, the constant struggle to prove himself walking the tightrope between a Sri Lankan and a Tamilian, his chucking controversy and also him being a part of the attack in Pakistan. The film does not explore his emotional side as much as we want to see it, but it does get through the instances in his life that hit the news. Of course, there is also the all important conversation with the ‘Master’ which we were all waiting to see.

Madhurr Mittal has done a fine job playing the role of Muralidaran, but is quite baffling as to why the team did not pick anyone who was more apt for the role. It is of course, a big miss for Vijay Sethupathi as well. On the other hand, the film has a very good support cast – King Ratnam does superbly as Arjuna Ranatunga, and Rukshanth Ram is convincing as Sangakkara. The rest of the cast do well too.

800 is not technically sound as it has to be, Ghibran’s music is disappointing as it hardly offers any special theme to the film. The visuals are carried out well but the low production value of the film is seen.

On the whole, 800 is an engaging and enlightening biopic on the life of Muttaih Muralidaran. There are many scenes which could have been carried out in an exciting manner with a different form of narration, but MS Sripathy chooses this route and it is not a bad one either.

800 The Movie Review Rating: 3.25/5