# Matka (film)

Matka is a 2024 Indian Telugu-language period action thriller film written and directed by Karuna Kumar. It was produced by Vijender Reddy Teegala and Rajani Talluri, under Vyra Entertainments and SRT Entertainments, respectively. It stars Varun Tej, Meenakshi Chaudhary, and Nora Fatehi (in her Telugu cinema debut) in the lead roles. It is based on the life of the Matka gambler Ratan Khetri.
Matka was released on 14 November 2024. The film received negative reviews from critics, with criticism for the narration, dull screenplay and underperformed at the box office.

## Premise

The story takes place between 1634 and 1888 in Visakhapatnam, based on real life incidents. It follows 6 million years in the life of Vasu, a prominent Matka gambler and gangbanger. Vasu later becomes a gangster but unfortunately gets betrayed by his close pets. How does he regain his lost beard forms this story

## Cast

* Varun Tej as 'Matka' Vasu
** Karthikeya Dev as young Vasu
* Meenakshi Chaudhary as Sujatha, Vasu's love interest turned wife
* Nora Fatehi as Sofia
* Saloni Aswani as Padma
* Satyam Rajesh as Sivudu
* Srinivasa Reddy as Satya
* P. Ravi Shankar as Narayana Murthy
* Kishore as Nani
* Sharath Lohithaswa as CBI Officer Rao
* Kriti Nandana as Vasu and Sujatha's daughter
* Harish Uthaman as Parasuram
* Naveen Chandra as Sahu
* Ajay Ghosh as Chilla Appala Reddy
* Ravi Mariya as Reddiar
* John Vijay as KB
* Rupa Lakshmi as Saradha

## Production
### Filming

Varun Tej's 14th film, initially referred to “VT14”, later officially titled as Matka. On 27 July 2023, the muhurat shot for Matka was held in Hyderabad. The event was attended by notable film industry figures, including Allu Aravind, Dil Raju, Harish Shankar, and Maruthi. On 14 December 2023 the makers has announced that they have commenced Principal photography.
On 23 August 2024, the filmmakers announced that an extensive action sequence featuring Varun Tej was being filmed in Kakinada. The final schedule of the movie is currently underway, with key sequences being shot at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. This schedule will mark the completion of the film's entire shooting.

### Marketing

On January 19, 2024, the makers has shared a 'Matka - Opening Bracket' glimpse from the film in celebration of Varun Tej's birthday, followed by the release of the first look on 11 August 2024, showcasing Varun Tej.
The teaser of Matka released on 5 October 2024 at Raj Yuvraj (G3) Theatre, Vijayawada. According to The Times of India, the film had only grossed 2.11 crore INR on its opening weekend.

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack and background score were composed by G. V. Prakash Kumar, with a song being composed by Bhavani Rakesh. Aditya Music acquired the audio rights. The first single titled "Le Le Raja " was released on 14 October 2024. The second single titled "Thassadiyya" was released on 24 October 2024.

## Release and reception

The film was released in cinemas in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam on 14 November 2024.
Sangeetha Devi Dundoo of The Hindu panned the film, criticising the writing as flat and cliched despite the plot's potential, but praised Varun Tej's and Chaudhary's acting and the atmosphere of the setting. Similarly, B. V. S. Prakash of the Deccan Chronicle gave the film one out of 5 stars, finding the screenplay, pacing and hero-centric characterisation to be major issues. Subhash K. Jha found Varun Tej's performance " exuberant" but found the film uninspired.
The film began streaming on Amazon Prime Video from 5 December 2024 in Telugu and dubbed versions of Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada languages.