As soon as Matka’s trailer was unveiled, speculation arose that the Varun Tej-starrer was based on the life of Ratan Khatri, who had taken Mumbai by storm in the ’60s with matka gambling. However, writer-director Karuna Kumar dismisses the rumour. To him, Khatri’s life was only the starting point as he set out to offer a fictional take with the Telugu film. “Matka is not based on Ratan Khatri’s life story. It’s completely fictional. My film is inspired by the events that occurred in his life between 1958 and 1982; based on that, I have written a [dramatised] script. I want to tell the audience about the game of matka and the Godfather who made it big,” starts the director.

Karuna Kumar