Matka First Look Poster Out: Varun Tej Goes Retro As Matka King

Varun Tej has been busy shooting for his next movie Matka, which is slated to release across all the regional languages in India. Helmed by Karuna Kumar, the movie was announced earlier this year on the occasion of Varun's birthday. Months later, the makers have unveiled the first look of the actor's character.

Varun Tej dons vintage look in Matka

On Sunday, Varun Tej took to his Instagram handle to share the first poster of his character. The poster shows the actor exuding a commanding presence. He is dressed in a dark pinstriped suit paired with a red tie, slicked-back hair and moustache. He is directly looking at the camera with a piercing gaze and stern expression.  In the caption, he hints at being playing the role of a gambler. "From the depths of poverty to the pinnacle of power, Destined to dominate. In his world, every move is a gamble," read the caption.

Apart from Varun Tej, the movie also stars Meenakshi Chaudhary and Nora Fatehi in the lead roles.

Is Matka based on the life of gambler Ratan Khatri?

As per a report in Gulte, the movie is inspired by the life of the 'Matka King', Ratan Khatri. For the unversed, Ratan Khatri's title of 'Matka King' comes from the stronghold he had over the Matka gambling industry in India, between the 1960s and 1980s. Incidentally, Khatri had himself turned producer with the 1976 film Rangila Ratan, notably starring Rishi Kapoor and Parveen Babi.

Matka reportedly spans a timeline of 24 years and might feature Varun in four avatars. Set against the backdrop of Vizag, the timeline for the film is between 1958 and 1985. The report adds that while the film will not be an out-and-out biopic on Khatri, several plot points from the film will be heavily inspired by his life.

What else do we know about Matka?

The film's music is composed by GV Prakash Kumar, with Karthika Srinivas R handling editing, Ashish Teja handling production design, and Suresh handling art direction. For the action scenes, four-fight masters have been enlisted. In addition to Telugu, Matka will also be released in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi sometime later this year.