After playing an officer of the Indian Air Force in Operation Valentine , actor Varun Tej awaits the theatrical release of his new Telugu film Matka , in which he plays a character inspired by the gambler Ratan Khatri, referred to as ‘matka king’. “I was keen to be a part of a film that has the potential to appeal to a wide audience. I liked director Karuna Kumar’s raw and rugged narrative style in Palasa 1978 and was eager to work with him when he narrated a fictional story inspired by the life of Ratan Khatri,” Varun Tej explains with enthusiasm when we meet for this interview at Vyra Entertainments office in Hyderabad.
Varun Tej; in a still from ‘Matka’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement Varun emphasises that Matka, to be released in multiple languages on November 14, is essentially a Telugu film, staying true to its home language and cultural context. As the script evolved (Karuna Kumar wrote 13 drafts), Varun was taken in by portions that emerged as a spin-off of happenings in Khatri’s life. “It is interesting to know how Khatri expanded his network and gambling spread across India and affected the Indian economy.
We have included a few events pertaining to the Emergency and the demonetisation of high denomination bank notes (1978). However, we were not keen on making a biopic.” The character Vasu portrayed by Varun, is fictional though created along the lines of Khatri.
Matka traces his journey from his 20s to his 50s, transforming from a youngster .
