800 Trailer: Makes impact

The trailer for ‘800’ was today released in the presence of Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and former Sri Lankan off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, whose biopic the film is. Actor Madhur Mittal and director MS Sripathy seem to have made a genuine cricket-based film that goes beyond the sport. There is political and social commentary as well.

A layered political situation in Sri Lanka, the Civil War-torn social backdrop, and the rise of Muralitharan as a hope are shown evocatively. “The Unknown Story of Muttiah Muralitharan” is what the trailer proclaims at the start. Citizen rights, the lived reality of immigrant labourers, the attack on cricketers by militants, and such little-known elements can be expected in ample measure in the film.

“I don’t see myself as a Tamilian only. I see myself as a cricketer,” says the hero to his father. The central character’s vulnerability, his emotional churning, and the insurmountable speedbumps on his path have been written into the script.

Tollywood senior producer Sivalenka Krishna Prasad owns the release rights to the film in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, and English. The film will arrive at the cinemas in October.