Is Matka King a gamble? Vijay Varma admits giving it his “most time” ever

Inside Vijay Varma’s intense two-year commitment to Matka King as he reveals his most demanding role to date

Mumbai — Vijay Varma has dropped a bombshell about his upcoming project Matka King, revealing that the series didn’t just take his time—it consumed two years of his life.

Speaking at a high-octane promotional event for the Amazon Prime Video series, the actor confessed that this is the most time he has ever given to a single character. He wasn’t just working; he was essentially “consumed” by the world of 1960s Bombay.

Vijay Varma, the man who made Gully Boy‘s Moeen and Mirzapur‘s Tyagi twins household names, is not known for doing things halfway. But even by his standards, the two-year grind for Matka King is a massive shift. He mentioned that the prep alone was a couple of months, followed by a marathon ten-month shoot.

If you include the dubbing and the massive post-production cycle, the actor has basically been living as Brij Bhatti since 2024.

It is a rare move for a top-tier actor today. Most stars are out here doing three movies a year, popping up in cameos, and keeping their Instagram feeds perpetually refreshed with “new work” updates. But Vijay?

He chose to stay away from other projects for a whole year just to stay in the skin of this gambling kingpin. To be honest, this kind of focus is almost unheard of in the current streaming era, where “quantity is king.”

Why Vijay Varma skipped other projects for Brij Bhatti

According to reports from Bollywood Hungama, Vijay spent two years solely focused on this world. The actor revealed that he didn’t pick up anything else in the middle, effectively putting his career on a “one-show-only” mode.

This level of dedication usually suggests one of two things: either the script is a masterpiece, or the director is so demanding that you can’t possibly think of anything else.

In this case, it might be both. Working with Nagraj Manjule, the mastermind behind Sairat and Jhund, was a major dream for Vijay.

The actor admitted he had to “unlearn” his previous acting tricks to fit into Nagraj’s gritty, hyper-realistic style. Between using toothpicks during script readings to perfecting the gait of an underdog cotton trader, Vijay went all in to bring Brij Bhatti to life.

The suitcase and dreams’ connection to his latest role

There is a certain mood on Stan Twitter right now—a mix of extreme hype and a bit of “Wait, two years?” scepticism.

Some fans are questioning if any show is worth that much time in an actor’s prime. But look at the trailer: the 1960s Bombay aesthetic is breathtaking.

Vijay plays Brij Bhatti, a man who turns cotton rates into a nationwide betting craze. It is the classic “rise to power” story, but with a period-accurate texture that suggests why it took so long to build.

Vijay actually found a deeply personal hook for this character. He recently shared that, like Brij, he too landed in Mumbai with just a suitcase, one pair of shoes, and a bag full of books.

This “middle-class man who isn’t allowed to dream” narrative hit home for him. He isn’t just playing a gambling king; he’s playing the version of himself that wanted to conquer the city when he first arrived.

Nagraj Manjule and the art of unlearning

The timeline for Matka King puts its release on April 17, 2026. For those of us tracking Vijay’s PR move strategy, this is a soft launch into “legendary” territory. He is moving away from being the “scene-stealer” to the undisputed “King” of the frame.

The series, which features a stellar cast including Kritika Kamra, Sai Tamhankar, and Gulshan Grover, aims to present a story of ambition and the price of success.

If the show hits the mark, those two years will be seen as the ultimate investment in his legacy. If not? Well, at least he has a project with Sunny Deol and a show called Family Business with Anil Kapoor and Hansal Mehta lined up to keep the momentum going. But for now, the industry is watching. One thing is certain: Vijay Varma isn’t just playing the game; he’s been living it.