Siddharth Roy Kapur, Nagraj Manjule collaborate for illegal betting series ‘Matka King’
Follow UsStory highlights
The series will be inspired by the life of Ratan Khatri, who went to Mumbai as a refugee and changed the fortunes of the have-nots around him by transforming the local gambling game of matka into a national syndicate worth billions of rupees.
Indian producer Siddharth Roy Kapur’s Roy Kapur Films is teaming with filmmaker Nagraj Manjule for a series set in the world of illegal betting.
The series has tentatively been titled ‘Matka King’ and will span a timeline between the 1960s and 1990s. It will be inspired by the life of Ratan Khatri, who went to Mumbai as a refugee and changed the fortunes of the have-nots around him by transforming the local gambling game of matka into a national syndicate worth billions of rupees. The concept appealed to one and all as it catered to people from all socio-economic stratas. The man thus became the founding father of gambling in India and was subsequently referred to as the Matka King.
On the series, Siddharth said, “‘Matka King’ is a story that promises to resonate with viewers across languages, geographies and cultures. It is an epic drama with a sweeping canvas, telling the story of the origins of matka, of the incredible man behind it and of how wealth became accessible to the masses, as this form of betting cut across all classes. We are excited to collaborate with the supremely talented filmmaker Nagraj Manjule and to have him on board as the showrunner. I have always admired Nagraj’s body of work and ‘Sairat’ is one of my favorite movies of the last decade.”
Meanwhile, filmmaker Nagraj is known for ‘Faundry’ that had a festival run in worldwide forums while his next ‘Sairat’ remains the highest grossing film in the history of Marathi-language cinema. He also has ‘Jhund’ with Amitabh Bachchan.