I hope playing Madhi in 800 will open new doors for me

After working on a handful of films in Tamil and Malayalam, Mahima Nambiar has a big outing in 800. Written and directed by M.S. Sripathy, the film chronicles the life of former Sri Lankan cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan. While Madhurr Mittal plays Murali, Mahima portrays the legendary cricketer’s wife, Madhimalar.

“When I heard the script and later met Murali, I was convinced of the need to tell this story. People know Murali only as a legendary cricketer, but the world should also know the hardships he had to go through in life. I believe the film will change people’s perception of  Murali,” she shares, adding that the film is more about Murali as a person. Mahima met Murali’s wife and on the first day of the shooting at their house in Sri Lanka. The makers were shooting the scene where Murali and Madhimalar meet for the first time. “Someone called me for a group photo on the sets and I was coming out from the house when Murali’s mother mistook me for Madhi and said, ‘Hey Madhi come quickly!’ Oops! Realising her mistake, she said, ‘Oh sorry, I thought it was Madhi, but you really look like her.’ I think that’s the greatest validation I got,” recalls Mahima.

While Murali is from Sri Lanka, Madhimalar is from Chennai, India. And Mahima was deeply impacted by the emotional turmoil that Madhimalar went through after her marriage. She was always asked who she would support when Sri Lanka played India.

“Murali helped her maintain composure. The beautiful companionship and emotion between the couple touches the heart,” says the actress. On her part, Madhimalar was instrumental in giving Murali the required emotional support. The cricketer had experienced a lot of crises — like the chucking controversy, injuries, and having to undergo shoulder surgery – and was always under pressure.

“The film chronicles how Madhimalar gave him emotional stability throughout his journey and helped him channelise his energy properly,” she notes.
“It was an arranged marriage. But there’s an interesting story about it. Apparently, Murali was not interested in marriage at that time because he wanted to focus on cricket. But he was clean bowled when he saw Madhimalar; they connected instantly. As for Madhimalar, she was not into cricket but tried to understand the game more after marriage,” Mahima adds.

The actress says her biggest challenge was to play a composed character, having had bubbly and energetic roles thus far. “I had to unlearn a lot; I had to maintain my cool, be stable and not get carried away. It was challenging. The director gave me the freedom to put my own spin on the character, thus making it unique,” she says, adding that she hopes the role will open the doors to other substantial parts.