Varun Tej – Rigobertha Reviews

‘Matka’ is technically proficient with special mention to the cinematography department but suffers from the regular clichés of a gangster movie. Varun Tej does his level best managing to rise above the ordinary material but it isn’t enough to salvage the movie.

Matka (Telugu), 13-11-2024, Action, Period, Thriller, 2 hours 39 minutes, U/A, Theatre

Main Cast: Varun Tej, Meenakshi Chaudhary, Nora Fatehi, and Naveen Chandra
Director: Karuna Kumar
Producer: Vijender Reddy Teegala and Rajani Talluri
Music Director: GV Prakash Kumar
Cinematography: Kishor Kumar
Rating: 2/5

Four films old, director Karuna Kumar has created a niche with Palasa 1978 (2020) and Sridevi Soda Centre (2021). Both dealt with the themes of caste and class in a hard-hitting manner.

With Matka, the director has moved out of his usual space making a gangster movie based on a real-life Matka gambler Ratan Khetri.

The attempt to get mainstream acceptance is clearly visible. However, the movie feels like a stale leftover of other films in the same space.

Synopsis

The slight freshness in Matka only comes from the gambling background and the huge dent it left on the Indian economy. However, this aspect isn’t enough to save the film as the movie lacks the major highs needed for this genre.

In simple terms, the story of Matka is set in the background of Visakhapatnam between 1958 and 1962. It traces the journey of Varun Tej’s Vasu, coming to the city as a refugee and how the tough circumstances shaped his journey as a gambler and gangster.

One of the very few positive aspects of Matka is the recreation of the bygone era. Cinematographer A Kishore Kumar does a wonderful job of capturing both the retro vibe and also the various timelines through his lens. Special mention must be made of the scenes in the market yard.

Analysis

Matka is written and directed by Karuna Kumar — ‘Matka’ is written and directed by Karuna Kumar. (Instagram)

The first half is mostly a slog given the predictable scenarios and not much effort being made in showcasing the graph of the protagonist. It is just a series of moments to establish Vasu’s heroism. At regular intervals, slides flash indicating a change in the passage of time but this technique comes across as superficial trying to hide the lack of depth.

The movie only gets interesting when it showcases the network of Matka gambling. How much money was made out of this and the consequences of this dangerous game engage the audiences for a while. The addiction of people towards gambling though set in 60’s feels contemporary.

The CBI investigation headed by an earnest Naveen Chandra has its moments too. But this also doesn’t last for long as the movie gets back to being a formulaic fare.

The love story between Varun Tej’s Vasu and Meenakshi Chaudhary’s Sujatha should have been the emotional backbone of the movie; unfortunately, the drab writing plays a spoilsport. There is no proper build-up to how both of them fall for each other.

As a result of this, the distance in their marriage because of Vasu’s greed doesn’t register strongly.

Performances

Varun Tej in Matka — Varun Tej in ‘Matka’. (X)

Meenakshi Chaudhary suffers on account of a sketchy characterization after her wonderful performance in Lucky Baskhar (2024).

Varun Tej in the title role has given it his all; he does a fine job of portraying Vasu’s transition from a normal young man to a Matka king.

The role of Vasu gives Varun space to explore grey areas and he does go full throttle. But on some occasions, his gangster act feels repetitive lacking the nuances to bring out some variation.

The supporting cast comprising of Naveen Chandra, Kishore, and Satyam Rajesh are competent but none of them stand out.

GV Prakash’s music isn’t great but two songs “Le Le Raja” and “Tassadiya” are visually fine. The background music also leaves a lot to be desired.

Final take

To sum it up Matka is strictly for those who enjoy conventional gangster films.

(Views expressed here are personal, edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)

https://thesouthfirst.com/entertainment/telugu/matka-movie-review/

Among the younger crop of Tollywood directors Anil Ravipudi is someone who has quickly climbed up the ladder of success. From his first film Patas onwards the director has been successful in catering to the masses. His latest F3 is no different from the earlier ones. The film comes with a solo agenda of making the audiences forget the stress of real life. While F2 focused on the trials of frustrated husbands, this one talks about money and people’s greed for it. Much like F2 there isn’t much of a plot but it still keeps you entertained. There are two reasons for this; one is the conviction of the actors and two there is a method to the madness.

Venketash and Varun Tej reprise their roles of Venky and Varun respectively, but this time they are playing two individuals who are always after money. After failing to make it big they come across a video of a rich businessman played by Murali Sharma. He is looking for his lost son. So both Venky and Varun decide to go in as the lost son and inherit the crores of property. But they are not the only ones who are in desperate need of money.

Tammanha’s character also shows up at the place disguised as a male. In addition there is also the character of Vennala Kishore. He is brought there by Rajendra Prasad who has his own motive. The rest of the story is about who the actual son is and what happens to these characters.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=3pelriJ6Acs%3Ffeature%3Doembed

A major strength of F3 is the entertainment quotient. Venky suffers from night blindness and Varun has stammering issues. A lot of the film’s humor comes from these two aspects (though it is incorrect to draw fun of these disabilities) Comedy is not something new to Venkatesh. It is something that he has always been good at. Here too the actor brings the house down with his comic timing. There are many inside jokes that make you chuckle. A particular reference must be made to the scene where he talks about his problems to a raging bull. Tears come out from the eyes of the bull after hearing his story. Raghubabu playing the sidekick comments that you can make not just the families but also animals emotional. This is in reference to the family man image of Venkatesh.

F3 IS NOT FOR THOSE WHO ARE LOOKING FOR A PROPER STORY AND LOGIC. IT IS FOR THOSE WHO WANT A FULL ON MASALA FILM WITH ENTERTAINMENT PACKED AT REGULAR INTERVALS.

In the climax there is an instance where Venkatesh dresses up as Narappa. When Varun asks him about this get up. The actor says that this is for my fans as Narappa didn’t release in theatres.

Varun Tej also gets his share of funny moments. The mannerism that he uses to cover up his stammer raises some chuckle worthy moments.

There is a moment in the climax where Varun Tej dresses up as Vakeel sab and beats the villains. It is one of those inside jokes that bring a smile on your face. Much like F2 here too the chemistry between Venkatesh and Varun Tej is on point. The supporting cast has many players and most of them make their screen time count. Sunil and Ali in particular stand out. Murali Sharma’s serious avatar is in complete contrast to the other characters. In the pre- climax you have an unexpected twist and also an important moral lesson on people’s greed for money, and the things that it makes people do.

One of the things that stick out in F3 is the character of Sonal Chauhan. Her character falls in love with Tammanh thinking he is a male. These portions weren’t at all needed. Also the characters in Tammanh’s family are unnecessarily vilanised. Their greed for money is portrayed with a judgmental tone unlike Venketash and Varun Tej’s

In a nutshell F3 is not for those who are looking for a proper story and logic. It is for those who want a full on masala film with entertainment packed at regular intervals.

Tag: Varun Tej

Matka: Karuna Kumar’s gamble is a weak game marred by predictable scenarios and flat storytelling