Varun Tej will soon play a Matka King called Vasu in Karuna Kumar’s upcoming film Matka. Given that Ratan Khatri is one of India’s most well-known Matka Kings, everyone is curious to know just how much of his story was tapped into for the film. Varun has now clarified th. 

‘Matka is a Telugu story’

Talking to the press, Varun clarifies that Ratan is a man who came to Mumbai from Pakistan, while his character travels to Visakhapatnam from Burma. And that’s as far as the similarities between them go. “People talk about his deeds like they’re urban legends because no one has evidence to back it. There weren’t cell phones back then and yet, he would communicate the same number country-wide. Karuna Kumar wanted to tell a story like that but with a Telugu touch.”

And so, he says, the director envisioned a story that takes place between 1958 and 1982, imagining what he would do if he were a Matka King. “He wondered what he would do if he was a Matka King and fleshed out Vasu. So, the film is original. He was clear about everything, from how Vasu would sit, smoke, and even walk.”

‘I liked the characterisation’

Varun also says that despite Vasu being a criminal, he said yes to playing the part because he liked the characterisation. “It’s a very strongly written character; it doesn’t mean it’s good or bad. When the audience watches the film, they have to connect to him, travel with him, want him to win, love him…There’s a beautiful scene in the film’s second half that sees him become vulnerable. I spend a week on those dialogues,” he adds.

For the unversed, Ratan is considered among the pioneers of betting in India, according to PTI. He was known as the Matka King for transforming matka, a form of gambling that originated in Mumbai in 1962, into a huge racket.

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