Over the past eight years, Vijay Varma has carved a unique identity of his own as an actor, with gritty and grounded performances in Gully Boy (2019), Dahaad (2023), and Mirzapur (2020-24), among others. However, with Matka King, where he plays the gambling kingpin Brij Bhatti, Vijay’s challenges were unique and daunting for separate reasons. Here, he was directed by Nagraj Manjule, the master of realism. Vijay, who is a trained actor, recalls being nervous about being “caught” as an actor. He explains, “In Nagraj sir’s films, the performances flow like water; It feels like actors are just living their lives. Whether it's Sairat, Fandry, or Jhund, they all had non-actors who did such an amazing job. I didn't want people to say that Nagraj sir should have kept working with new actors. I wanted to make sure that the effort doesn't show.”
On the other hand, Siddharth Jadhav had a simple brief: this is not a funny character. The actor, best known for his roles in Rohit Shetty comedies, plays Dagdu, the hero’s loyal friend who eventually charts his own path after feeling sidelined. Reflecting on his character, Siddharth says, “Dagdu takes his life very seriously, living in the hope that he will be successful one day, even though nobody has given him the opportunity.” At one point in Matka King, Dagdu thanks Brij for trusting him with a monumental task. Siddharth recalls how he felt a similar sense of gratitude towards his director, adding, “I thank Nagraj sir for trusting me with this role. It’s only when a director has faith in you that you can do your job well. Matka King is relatable because everyone carries that hope within themselves.”
For writer and co-creator Abhay Koranne, this is his second show set against a period backdrop, after Rocket Boyz (2022). While there have been several films and shows about an older Bombay, Abhay, with Matka King, captures something that we don’t often see— its evolving real-estate landscape. He notes, “When our textile mills began shutting down, and the builders started taking over that land, it led to the transformation of a working-class city into a more capitalistic one. We've not seen that before, except for Bombay Velvet (2015). Here, we made a conscious effort to be honest in terms of these socio-political events, and how those events trickle down to our characters.”
While Matka King stands out for its protagonist Brij Bhatti’s rigid morality, where he stays unflinching in his honesty even as he creates a massive underground gambling syndicate, the show also risks glorifying Brij in his choices. Abhay recalls his early conversations with Nagraj to explain their treatment of the character and the narrative. He reflects, “It’s very important to see where the crimes come from, what is the system and environment that he is entering. When they make a decision, it’s because of the situations they have been in. It’s important to examine that without judging the character.”
For Vijay, this is yet another grey-shaded role after works like Dahaad (2023), Darlings (2022), and Kaalkoot (2023). I ask him whether he feels more conscious now about choosing his roles, given the growing discourse about glorification of anti-heroes. Vijay first responds on a light-hearted note, saying, “There is no test to check how much testosterone there is in any script,” then adding, “I do projects where I feel I can convincingly pull off the character. Be it a spy, a soldier, or a gangster — no matter whose story it is, I prefer a slightly neutral gaze that lets the audience decide.” Vijay also recalls the response to his role in Darlings (2022), where he played Hamza, an alcoholic wife-beater. He recalls, “A lot of women got triggered by that film, while the men kept quiet. Men didn’t walk up to me to talk about it because they felt some part of themselves got exposed with the film. I like to keep a critical eye on the human condition rather than glorify it.”
However, amidst an array of grey-shaded and antagonistic roles, Vijay also occasionally headlines a gentle film like Gustaakh Ishq (2025), which at its core explored the beauty of the Urdu language. The film, unfortunately, didn’t find resonance at the box office. When I ask him if he consciously tracks the audience’s reception to his work, and does the rejection bother him, Vijay says, “I don’t understand trends — I just try to see whether my work is reaching people. When Gustaakh Ishq came out, of course, it didn't get the success we wanted it to. However, when it came on streaming, people kept sharing reels and snippets of its poetry segments. That’s when we realised it had an audience, except they found it on streaming, not in theatres. With each project, we never know what is going to happen. It’s just a gamble that we all must keep taking as filmmakers.”