Matka King
2026 Indian period-crime drama series
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Matka King is a 2026 Indian Hindi-language period crime drama television series created by Nagraj Popatrao Manjule and Abhay Koranne based on the story concept by Ashish Aryan for Amazon Prime Video. It stars Vijay Varma, Sai Tamhankar, Bhupendra Jadawat, Kritika Kamra, Gulshan Grover and Siddharth Jadhav in lead roles.[1][2] Set in the 1960s 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.
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Nagraj Popatrao Manjule
Nagraj Popatrao Manjule
| Matka King | |
|---|---|
Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Created by | Abhay Koranne Nagraj Popatrao Manjule |
| Written by | Abhay Koranne Nagraj Popatrao Manjule |
| Story by | Ashish Aryan |
| Directed by | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule |
| Starring | |
| Theme music composer | Ajay Jayanthi |
| Opening theme | Matka King - Title Theme |
| Composers | Songs: Amit Trivedi B Prasanna Parag Chabbra Score: Ketan Sodha |
| Country of origin | India |
| Original language | Hindi |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Rahul Gandhi Ashwini Sidwani |
| Producers |
|
| Cinematography | Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti |
| Editor | Nitin Baid |
| Running time | 43–62 minutes |
| Production companies | Roy Kapur Films Aatpat Entertainment SMR Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Release | 17 April 2026 – present |
The series is renewed for a second season by Amazon Prime Video which is in development.[3][4]
Premise
Matka King is a gripping crime drama set in the 1960s 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.
Cast
- Vijay Varma as Brij Bhatti "Matka King"
- Sai Tamhankar as Barkha Bhatti, Brij's wife
- Bhupendra Jadawat as Laxman "Lachu" Bhatti, Brij's brother
- Kritika Kamra as Gulrukh
- Gulshan Grover as Laljibhai Chaggani
- Siddharth Jadhav as Dagdu Vichare
- Jamie Lever as Sulbha
- Bharat Jadhav as Sub Inspector Eknath Tumbade
- Girish Kulkarni as TP D'Souza
- Kishor Kadam as Minister Prashant Bapat
- Ridan Shah as Anmol Bhatti, Brij's son
- Arpita Sethia as Rukmani
- Cyrus Sahukar as Maqsood
- Ishtiyak Khan
- Simran Ashwini as Vasudha, Lalji's daughter
- Samir Trimbakkar as DCP MK Sharma
- Sanjeev Jogtiyani as Editor-in-Chief
- Tanaji Galgunde as Raftaar
- Vineet Kumar Singh as Darab Ahmed Wadkar (special appearance)[5]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Taqdeer, Tadbeer, Tarkeeb!" | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Abhay Koranne, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | 17 April 2026 |
| 2 | "Umeed Ka Karkhana" | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Abhay Koranne, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | 17 April 2026 |
| 3 | "Izzat Half, Sangam Full" | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Abhay Koranne, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | 17 April 2026 |
| 4 | "Tera Pyaar Triple Paana, Mera Pyaar Kabootar Daana" | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Abhay Koranne, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | 17 April 2026 |
| 5 | "Safed Kapde, Kaale Dil" | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Abhay Koranne, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | 17 April 2026 |
| 6 | "Lights, Camera, Jodi" | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Abhay Koranne, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | 17 April 2026 |
| 7 | "Do Ikke, Ek Gulaam" | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Abhay Koranne, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | 17 April 2026 |
| 8 | "Open Aur Close" | Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | Abhay Koranne, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule | 17 April 2026 |
Soundtrack
| Matka King | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album | |
| Released | 10 April 2026 |
| Genre | Television soundtrack |
| Length | 18:23 |
| Language | Hindi |
| Label | Sony Music India |
| Official audio | |
| Matka King (Jukebox) on YouTube | |
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hoga Savera - Retro" | Kumaar, Shantanu Raina | Amit Trivedi | Simran Choudhary, Shantanu Raina | 2:51 |
| 2. | "Raasta" | Abhay Koranne, Parag Chhabra | Vineeth Jayan, Mayank Choudhary, Parag Chhabra | Yashika Sikka, Parag Chhabra | 3:40 |
| 3. | "Dhaaga Dhaaga" | Arushi Kaushal | B Prasanna | Keerthana Vaidyanathan | 3:00 |
| 4. | "Bhaga Re" | Kumaar | Amit Trivedi, Vaibhav Pani | Amit Trivedi, Jyotsana Vaidya | 4:48 |
| 5. | "Hoga Savera - Modern" | Kumaar, Shantanu Raina | Amit Trivedi | Simran Choudhary; Shantanu Raina | 2:51 |
| 6. | "Matka King - Title Theme" | Instrumental | Ajay Jayanthi | Instrumental | 1:04 |
| Total length: | 18:14 | ||||
Release
Matka King began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 17 April 2026.[6][7]
Reception
Anuj Kumar for The Hindu wrote "‘Matka King’ turns out to be a familiar but gripping crime drama that is worth betting on."[8]
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."[9]
Rahul Desai for The Hollywood Reporter India wrote "Along the way, there are glimpses of the intellect buried within the algorithm."[10]
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."[11] Nandini Ramnath for Scroll.in felt that "The eight-episode show suffers from a bit of bloat and threadbare production values."[12] Sana Farzeen of India Today rated the series 3/5 stars and stated "At eight episodes, it feels indulgent."[13]
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."[14] 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."[15] A reviewer from Amar Ujala rated the series 2.5/5.[16]
