Matka King
2026 Indian TV series or programme
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Matka King is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language television series created by Nagraj Manjule for Amazon Prime Video. It stars Vijay Varma, Sai Tamhankar, Kritika Kamra and Gulshan Grover in lead roles.[1][2]
| Matka King | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Abhay Koranne |
| Directed by | Nagraj Manjule |
| Starring | |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Rahul Gandhi Ashwini Sidwani |
| Producers | Siddharth Roy Kapur Nagraj Manjule Ashish Aryan Ashwini Sidwani Gargi Kulkarni |
| Cinematography | Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti |
| Editor | Nitin Baid |
| Running time | 43-62 minutes |
| Production companies | Roy Kapoor Films Aatpat Production SMR Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Release | 17 April 2026 – present |
Set in the 1960's Mumbai, the series traces the transformation of a humble, enterprising cotton trader into a powerful gambling don as he starts a new game called Matka, that takes the city by storm and democratizes a terrain previously reserved for the rich and elite.
Cast
- Vijay Varma as Matka King Brij Bhatti
- Sai Tamhankar as Barkha (Brij's wife)
- Bhupendra Jadawat as Laxman/Lachu (Brij's brother)
- Kritika Kamra as Gulrukh
- Gulshan Grover as Lalji bhai
- Siddharth Jadhav as Dagdu
- Jamie Lever as Sulbha
- Bharat Jadhav as Sub Inspector Eknath Tumbade
- Girish Kulkarni as TP D'souza
- Kishor Kadam as Prashant Bapat
- Cyrus Sahukar as Maqsood
- Vineet Kumar Singh as Darab
- Simran Ashwini as Vasudha
Premise
Matka King is a gripping crime drama set in the 1960's Mumbai. The series builds its world around a modest cotton trader, Brij Bhatti, who, starts an illegal "Matka" betting game, showing how a small, almost harmless gambling idea gradually evolves into a massive underground empire that is controlled by money, politics, and fear.
At its core, the show is less about gambling and more about ambition. It explores how greed reshapes a man's morals as he climbs from poverty to power, and how that power slowly begins to destroy everything around him. Vijay Varma delivers a strong and controlled performance, carrying the emotional weight of a man who is both intelligent and deeply flawed.
Release
Matka King was released on 17 April 2026 at Amazon Prime Video.[3][4]
Reception
Anuj Kumar for The Hindu wrote "‘Matka King’ turns out to be a familiar but gripping crime drama that is worth betting on."[5]
Shubhra Gupta for The Indian Express rated the series 2/5 stars and stated "the matka-addicted mill-workers and their unions whose movement kept Bombay’s greedy sharks at bay, remain a scratchy backdrop."[6]
Rahul Desai for The Hollywood Reporter India wrote "Along the way, there are glimpses of the intellect buried within the algorithm."[7]
Deepansh Duggal for The Quint stated "Instead of unfolding organically, the plot feels like it is delivered in bursts, with too much information packed into too little time."[8] Nandini Ramnath for Scroll.in felt that "The eight-episode show suffers from a bit of bloat and threadbare production values."[9] Sana Farzeen of India Today rated the series 3/5 stars and stated "At eight episodes, it feels indulgent."[10]
Tatsam Mukherjee of The Wire expressed "No man-woman pair in the show can do so without falling in love, which I found too escapist and dated."[11] Hardika Gupta from NDTV rated the series 2 out of 5 stars and stated "The result is a story that moves, but rarely surprises; that speaks, but rarely resonates."[12] A reviewer from Amar Ujala rated the series 2.5/5.[13]
