Kritika Kamra on Matka King: From ‘unlucky’ Parsi widow to power player in 1960s Bombay’s gambling underworld

It was actually Nagraj Manjule that drew me to this project. He is someone whose work I have followed and liked and I never thought that he would make a series in Hindi. So, when I got to know that he is making something like this, I was sure that I had to audition for it. And that is how I got to know what the show is about and what the world is.

I did not know what the game Matka really is, nor did I know about its history. But when I found out, I was fascinated by this world of money and numbers and of a common man making it big. I think these themes make for a very interesting layered story to watch.

And then of course, it was my character. It was really important for me to know what I am doing in the show and I found that this character ticked a few boxes for me. Different from anything I have done in the past, it is a Parsi girl in her 20s who has lost her husband when we first meet her and sort of rediscovers herself through this game. And then eventually becomes a very important part in the rise of the game. Primarily played amongst mill workers and a lot of masses, she takes it to a different part of society and it becomes a big numbers game.

He is a man of few words and they are wise words. He is somebody who is really self aware and aware of the surroundings. And because we all know his story and the kind of films that he has made, he is able to see the world for what it is and shows it to you without glossing over anything. And I like that. There is an honesty in it.

He is not somebody who will perform a scene and show you what to do. He will tell you in precise, very few words what he wants out of that scene and then he just lets you play with it. For him, even dialogue is secondary. It is what the characters are trying to say or what the situation is that needs to come forth honestly.

And so, it was very nice because it is truly collaborative. Because then as an actor, you have to also use your understanding of the world, your brain, your sensitivity to bring the character alive.

I got to have a lot of fun with it. I have done shows that have been set in this era before, but in the past I have not had the luxury of having a character who would have the time and the means to play with fashion. But this time I do, and she is an affluent south Bombay girl. There is a certain social life and status that she comes with and she obviously dresses that way.

That gave us a lot of room to play with accessories, with the fashion of that era. We looked at Parveen Babi, Zeenat Aman, Farrah Fawcett and many more. It is also a great tool to feel like the character.

My character has a certain voice, a way of talking. Because she is a girl in her 20s, she has a certain hopefulness about her. When you meet her first in the show she is absolutely hopeless and considers herself unlucky. But the journey is one of hope, and it does not come from anybody or anything else, it comes from within her. And I thought that was beautiful.

There is a certain naivety when you first see her and that had to reflect in the way she is fascinated with the world around her. She talks like a south Bombay person. Her enunciations are different. So they were all new to me in the sense that I have observed this, but I had to inhabit that.

So for example, I have worn some beautiful Parsi gara saris in the show. But back then things were different. Even the most fashionable outfits were slightly more conservative. The length of your skirt, the depth of your neckline, all those things. These are very minute things but that is what makes a difference between a period costume and the same thing that can be worn today.

During the promotions, I have been trying to take inspiration from my character to dress up. Beauty standards of that time were different. People were constantly in corsets or wearing gloves and stockings, things that you do not see today.

It was super easy. Vijay is a really sharp actor and he is also a giving actor. And I think pretty much everybody on the Nagraj Manjule set is trying to play for the scene and for the larger arc and not just for themselves. Nobody is protective or possessive about their own character or how their character is being perceived or whether it is being liked or not. You have to just serve the story.

Because Vijay comes from FTII (Film and Television Institute of India) and has great training, he is an intelligent actor. We have seen it in his previous work. So I already respected him as an artiste. And now that I have worked with him, I also really like his work ethic and the kind of co-actor he is.

We had this sort of unsaid chemistry right from the word go. We never had to sit and discuss or tell each other what we are planning to do. We both kept an open mind and reacted to what the other person was doing. So the give and take was very natural.

I think in my pursuit of playing stronger women or independent women, what happens is that a lot of the times I get women who are not presented in a very glamorous way. Somehow we are not able to accept the multitudes of women. If somebody is glamorous, we automatically assume they are vain or not intelligent. The scrutiny happens especially with female characters.

When your character is strong or independent, you are told to play everything else down. She will not care about her hair or her clothes. That is the route we tend to take with serious women or intelligent women or women in high positions, which is not true.

Nothing has shifted or changed since my wedding. It has been a very seamless transition into a new life. I had an independent life before my wedding, so did Gaurav. Now we are doing life together.

It is like getting to do every day with your best friend. I went back to work the week after my wedding. For Gaurav, IPL started, so he started working immediately after. We both really admire each other’s need and want to give our best to the work that we do and that is something we bonded over. Nothing has changed because we have not changed.

One hundred per cent. I am trying to do that with my promotion looks also right now for Matka King. It is not really a part of my job, there is no mandate of how to dress. It is not supposed to be a costume.

So I have fun with this because I understand design and what goes into what we wear. I try to collaborate with designers whose work is skill based, handcrafted, and sustainable. Very rarely will I go for something that can just be picked off the shelf.

Currently I am focused on Matka King, which has been in the making for a while. I am also prepping for a film that I start shooting next month. It requires physical training that I have been going through, and it is very challenging. It is something I have not challenged myself with before.