Matka King Cast/Actors: Vijay Varma, Sai Tamhankar, Kritika Kamra, Gulshan Grover, Siddharth Jadhav, Bhupendra Jadawat and more
Matka King Director: Nagraj Popatrao Manjule
Matka King Production House: Roy Kapur Films, Aatpat Production and SMR Entertainment
Matka King Release Date: 17 April 2026
Matka King Available On: Amazon Prime Video OTT Platform
Matka King Released/Available In Languages: Hindi, Tamil and Telugu
Matka King Number Of Episodes: 8
Matka King Runtime: 50 minutes (Approx Each Episode) – 3h 49m
Matka King Series Critic Review:
Looking at the glittering malls, spiffy offices, high-end restaurants and luxury high rises of Lower Parel today, it’s tough to imagine that five decades ago, this was a part of Mumbai – or Bombay as it was then called – the elite never stepped into.
This was where textile mills thrived and workers went on a much-politicised strike when the first move was made to down the shutters and turn the area into swank, upper-crust commercial and residential property.
This was also where politics and the police force played their part when Matka King Ratan Khatri came up with a unique gamble and prospered beyond imagination. Winning and losing in large numbers became an addiction for workers of the area while elsewhere too, the Matka King’s game was played in various towns and rural districts.
When the pain and humiliation of being a nobody spurs Brij Bhatti (Vijay Varma) to take on arrogant cotton king Laljibhai (Gulshan Grover), rooting for the underdog comes naturally.
Creator-writer Abhay Koranne and writer-director Nagraj Popatrao Manjule turn Ashish Aryan’s story idea into a guided tour of old Bombay with the backdrop of landline phones and manual typewriters. Upfront is the rise of the Matka King, the warmth of his small family with wife Barkha (Sai Tamhankar), a little baby soon joining them, and younger brother Lachu (Bhupendra Jadawat) whose track is somewhat predictable.
Like all first movers, Brij’s head for playing with numbers turns ideas into a flourishing business, his biggest trump being his impeccable integrity which he won’t compromise with, whatever the cost. But cracks in relationships are a part of most success stories.
Manjule draws the viewer into the retro world of the Matka King with a chic Parsee girlfriend Gulrukh (Kritika Kamra) and loyalists like Dagdu (Siddharth Jadhav). Lurking in the wings are also a journalist on the trail of the new gambling addiction, a minister and a cop.
It’s not just the rise. Like the Harshad Mehta biopic, there is a fall too. Friendships and equations change, the ‘King’ inevitably having to realise where he stumbled.
A brief look at a Dawood-like don (Vineet Singh Kumar) with his hold over Bombay, the changing face of the mill area and Mrs Gandhi’s Emergency, have a relatable authenticity.
Vijay Varma is at the top of his game as Brij Bhatti, never once overplaying his hand, always in control. Sai Tamhankar makes a perfect Barkha, her warmth and her cooling off, handled like a pro. Kritika Kamra comes next, looking every inch the elegant Parsee lady. Gulshan Grover adds his Bad Man weight to Lalji. Siddharth Jadhav as Dagdu and Jamie Lever as girlfriend Sulbha are good too, although their extended track is one of the meandering distractions that make the viewer restless.
Manjule starts off with promise, leaving a hook at the end of the first couple of episodes. But later episodes find a drop in pace.
But one must mention that the cinematography (Sudhakar Reddy), music (Amit Trivedi, Ajay Jayanthi), art direction (Sunil Singh) and set decoration (Yogita Narvekar) create the mood and ambience of 60s’ Bombay.
Matka King – Watch it or not?: Matka was a unique gambling addiction that had its birth in the textile mill area of Bombay. For a fictionalised look at the city and its stories, it’s worth a watch.
Matka King Series Review Score Rating: 3 out of 5 (i.e. 3/5)
Matka King Official Trailer:
Credits: Prime Video India
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, the show harks back to the Bombay of the 60s and 70s. Director Nagraj Popatrao Manjule of Sairaat fame teams with Vijay Varma to tell the story over eight episodes. Let’s check it out.){kind=link}