Vijay Varma's 'Matka King' Sets April Release on Prime Video, Teaser Drops

Matka King, the forthcoming original series starring Vijay Varma, will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on 17 April, the platform confirmed on Sunday, releasing a teaser to coincide with the actor’s 40th birthday.

Set in Bombay in the 1960s, the series follows the fictional rise of Brij Bhatti, a cotton trader who devises a new gambling system — “matka” — transforming what begins as a niche pastime into a mass phenomenon. The premise situates personal ambition within a shifting urban landscape, where informal economies and social mobility intersect.

The show is created and written by Abhay Koranne and directed by Nagraj Popatrao Manjule, whose previous work has often drawn from marginalised lives and regional histories. Here, the narrative expands into a more expansive, period setting: crowded chawls, trading hubs and the evolving hierarchies of a city in transition.

Varma’s Bhatti is positioned as both architect and casualty of the system he builds, as the stakes of his enterprise grow beyond individual control. The series’ logline emphasises themes of legitimacy and belonging, framing the protagonist’s ascent as both aspirational and precarious.

The ensemble cast includes Kritika Kamra, Sai Tamhankar, Siddharth Jadhav and Gulshan Grover, alongside a larger supporting lineup. Production is led by Siddharth Roy Kapur under Roy Kapur Films, in collaboration with Aatpat and SMR Productions.

This will be Manjule's first directorial since his 2022 feature Jhund, which was headlined by megastar Amitabh Bachchan. The sports film, based on the life of Vijay Barse, the founder of NGO Slum Soccer, marked the filmmaker's Hindi debut.

Meanwhile, Varma is gearing up for a packed 2026. While he already has Matka King, he will also be seen in Hansal Mehta's Netflix series Family Business. The show, starring Anil Kapoor, Akash Khurana, Rhea Chakraborty, Neha Dhupia and Anant Nag, among others, is co-created by Niren Bhatt.

On the film front, Varma was last seen in the theatrical Gustaakh Ishq (2025). Produced by Manish Malhotra, the film also starred Naseeruddin Shah, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sharib Hashmi.