It was huge opportunity to work with Nagraj Manjule: Vijay Varma, Kritika, 'Matka King' lead cast praises director

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 10 (ANI): Actor Vijay Varma will be next seen in the series Matka King, which will stream on Amazon Prime Video. The lead cast has opened up about their roles and experience in the series, calling it a wonderful opportunity to work with the National Film Awardee filmmaker Nagraj Manjule.
In an interview to ANI, actor Vijay Varma has expressed her happiness of working with 'Sairat' filmmaker Nagraj Manjule. He praised the working style of the director, saying that Manjule's guidance helped him to perform difficult tasks easily.

Vijay Varma said, "I got the opportunity to work with Nagraj Manjule, sir. After listening to just the first episode, I immediately said yes, that I wanted to do it. Then they sent me all eight episodes. I began reading them, we had workshops, script readings, and look tests. Throughout the entire process, I worked very closely with Nagraj sir."
He continued, "He made things very simple for me. One of his greatest strengths as a director is that he can present very complex ideas in a simple way for people to understand. Another remarkable quality he has is that he doesn't necessarily need highly trained actors--he can create brilliant films even with complete non-actors and bring out amazing performances from them."
Due to the experience of the National Award-winning film director, Vijay admitted that he accepted the opportunity "with both hands" signifying his excitement to work on the project.
"His eye is very sharp when it comes to understanding emotions and characters. So when this opportunity came to me, I grabbed it with both hands. And after two years, we were finally able to bring this show to the audience," added Vijay Varma.

Kritika Kamra revealed that she auditioned for the series two times as she was initially rejected by the makers. She also recalled her experience of watching Manjule's film at the Mumbai Film Festival in the past.
"I wanted to be a part of this show. I auditioned once, but I didn't get selected. I auditioned again, and finally I got the opportunity to play this character. Like Vijay, from the very beginning, when I heard about it, that Siddharth sir is producing it, it's an Amazon show, and Nagraj sir is directing, it was a huge draw for me," said Kritika Kamra.
While recalling her experience, Krtika said, "I remember I had watched Fandry at the Mumbai Film Festival and the experience of watching that film is still very clear to me. There are very few films like that, which stay with you even after years. So somewhere there was always a desire. But I didn't know whether he would ever make something in Hindi or not. Then I found out that Nagraj sir is making this show, and I gave it everything I could in both auditions, doing whatever I possibly could."

Siddharth Jadhav shared his work experience with Vijay Varma, saying that more than a co-actor, he is like a "companion" for him. He called himself the "younger brother" of Vijay in the film.
"I have been watching his journey alongside him; if you say I'm his companion in that journey, you'd be right. I'm like a younger brother to him, not related by blood, but something even stronger than that. Whatever Seth says, Dagdu does. But this friendship, this kind of 'Jai-Veeru' bond," said Jadhav.

The producer Siddharth Roy Kapur also shared details about the upcoming show, saying that the film is about the man who originated matka betting in Bombay during the 60s and 70s, which was prevalent due to its transparency.
"Yeh matka ka world jo hai, is actually a very interesting world because it's a world where in the 60s and 70s, jo hai humare desh mein, the institutions were collapsing, you didn't have that much hope, the common man had very few ways in which to be able to come out of the situation that they were in and what matka did is it gave people hope because by betting a little bit of money you could get a chance to be able to make more money than you could ever imagine and that money will actually be paid to you and there was confidence in the fact that it will be done with honesty and this is a story about a man who built that world," said Siddharth Roy Kapur.

The series follows the journey of Brij Bhatti, played by Vijay Varma, a cotton trader whose ambition leads him to build a gambling empire, turning 'Matka' from an elite indulgence into a nationwide phenomenon.
Produced by Roy Kapur Films, Aatpat, and SMR Entertainment, Matka King will stream exclusively on Prime Video starting April 17. (ANI)