One of the finest spinners ever, Muthiah Muralidaran, was in Kolkata to promote the biopic 800. His life story is the subject of the movie 800, which takes its name from the record-breaking amount of wickets Muralidaran has taken in test cricket.

He gladly invited his close buddy Sourav Ganguly, often known as Bengal Tiger, to support him and assist him in promoting the movie on his home ground.

“I had the great opportunity and privilege of playing the young, middle-aged, and old Murali. In my opinion, the old Murali was the most dangerous. As a cricketer, he might be dangerous but as a person he is extremely humble, and having him as a friend has been a great privilege for me” said Sourav Ganguly.

The great Sri Lankan spinner will be played by Madhur Mittal, who worked in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire.

Speaking of his experience of playing the legendary character, Madhur said, “It was difficult, but I watched a lot of his videos and tried to pick up mannerisms. Before the shoot began, I only had one encounter with Murali Sir, and the only piece of advice he gave me was to avoid trying to imitate him. I hope the portrayal is accurate and that he and his family approve”.

To promote their film, Murali and Madhur went to Saltlake Shiksha Niketan School in the morning.

Muralidaran said “I was initially not very convinced with a film on my life. But later when I was convinced, the only thing I asked the director to do was to show things in their truest form. And not add things to spice it up. I wanted to show my life in the authentic way possible so that the audiences can see my life as a common man”.

He also praised Sourav Ganguly as one of the most successful Indian cricket captains. He also added that Sourav was a humble person.

The film will be released on October 6 in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu.

Priyanka Dutta