'Matka King' has been making headlines since its release on Prime Video. Ahead of that, let's take a look if Kritika Kamra's role in the film is based on a real person.
Matka King became one of the most talked-about series with its release on Amazon Prime Video. While Vijay Varma won over the audience with his role, Kritika Kamra has us hooked with her impeccable performance and gorgeous ensembles. While we know what inspired the film and Vijay's role, the questions around Kritika's role as 'Gulrukh' have also become a centre of attention. So, let's see whether the role is based on a real person and what inspired Kritika's portrayal.
In a recent interview with Mashable India, Kritika Kamra got candid about what led her to sign Matka King. The actress revealed that it was Nagraj Manjule, the series' director, who got her excited about working on the project as she really admired his work. She shared that most of Nagraj's work was in Marathi, so when she found out he was making a Hindi show, she had to be part of it.
Kritika Kamra essays the role 'Gulrukh' in the series, Matka King. She is a 20-something Parsi woman based in South Bombay during the 1960s and 1970s. The woman has had a sheltered upbringing, thanks to her privileged background. However, there's a point in her life where she meets a man and his game, Matka, and gets hooked on the thrill of this side of the world. Kritika discussed the role in detail and revealed that 'Gulrukh' plays an instrumental role in reaching her target audience: the rich, the famous, and the affluent. The actress added:
"She's not a catalyst but a driving force of this transition of Matka from being a game of the common man to reach like parts of society that you wouldn’t think would be into something like this at all."
While the series and its main character are based on real events and a person, Ratan Khatri, Kritika Kamra's role is purely fictionalised. 'Gulrukh' is not based on a real person. However, she draws inspiration from several actresses of that era.
Kritika Kamra revealed that most of her work was made easier by the team, including phenomenal costume designers, the hair and makeup crew, and production designers. For the unversed, the 1960s and 1970s are known for their fashion, music and movies. Everyone is very well aware of what the cars and dresses were like. The actress revealed that, for this project, she knew what she needed; hence, she drew initial inspiration from Parveen Babi, who looked very innocent with her signature haircut. While she is wearing something very glamorous, she had a baby face in that photo.
However, Parveen was not the only actress, Kritika took inspiration from. She revealed that she looked at several pictures and films of Zeenat Aman, Sharmila Tagore, and other yesteryear actresses who influenced fashion at that time to create the looks for this character. Kritika revealed they would often discuss how Parveen would dress up for different occasions and even made a Parsi gara saree, which they thought would fit the role. Kritika further shared that Parsis are fond of pearls, so they added those elements to make the role feel more authentic. She was quoted as saying:
"I also tried to bring a certain poise to it. She’s a graceful girl from the 60s, very convent-educated, very protected, a little very proper with proper manners and everything. I even modulated my voice because I wanted her to sound young and nice, since she’s in her twenties. She's barely seen the world. She's only now finding out what the world is like. There's a certain uppitiness in her which I tried to bring in the voice. We didn't want to make it caricaturish. We tried to include these small nuances that people would hopefully notice."
In a conversation with Indulge, Kritika Kamra further revealed that to channel her inner 1960s diva, she didn't just have to match the time period, but also tap into that affluent South Bombay energy, as her character didn't just belong to the 1960s but also had every means to be no less fashionable. She reflected on how there was a certain social life and status that she comes with, and she obviously dresses that way. The actress admitted that they were given a lot of room to play with the accessories in that era's fashion. She added:
"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."
What are your thoughts on Kritika Kamra's role in Matka King? Let us know.
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