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‘Matka King’ Debuts on Prime Video After Court Declines Stay

Early reviews note standout acting alongside uneven pacing.

Overview

  • The eight-episode crime drama, which premiered Friday on Prime Video, is created and directed by Nagraj Manjule and stars Vijay Varma with Kritika Kamra, Sai Tamhankar and Gulshan Grover.
  • The Bombay High Court refused to halt the release on Wednesday and scheduled an April 20 hearing on Tanuja Bhagat’s petition alleging her grandfather Kalyanji Bhagat is misrepresented.
  • Critics highlight strong turns by Varma and Siddharth Jadhav but cite slow stretches, a formulaic midsection and underwritten parts for female characters.
  • Set in 1960s Bombay, the show fictionalizes the spread of matka—a numbers game drawn from an earthen pot—through the rise of fictional operator Brij Bhatti.
  • Kritika Kamra, who plays Gulrukh, said she tested for the role twice after Manjule initially doubted she could portray a Parsi woman.