Matka movie review: Varun Tej’s efforts go waste in a predictable eye-popping yawner

Matka movie review: Varun Tej’s efforts go waste in a predictable eye-popping yawner

What: ‘Matka’ – starring Varun Tej, this could have been his comeback vehicle but unfortunately this vivid eye-popping action crime masala drama loses its bet due to a predictable and lazy narrative.

Matka movie synopsis

Its circa 1958 in Visakhapatnam, 1958, a refugee Vasu (Varun Tej) sentenced to juvenile jail for murder comes back from jail to become a kingpin in the world of gambling by introducing the betting game – Matka.

Matka review

Directed by Karuna Kumar, Matka is well shot and vivid, it transports you to the era ranging from 1958 to 1982 with eye popping accuracy. That image of young Bala Saheb Thackeray in a busy cloth market in Mumbai where the dynamic Vasu learns the trick of ‘Matka’ is striking. That particular portion shows the caliber of Karuna Kumar as director and of course Kishor Kumar’s cinematography is a stealer. But alas, this is the only touch of brilliance as par as storytelling is concern in ‘Matka’. Apart from Varun Tej and the just mentioned scene, ‘Matka’ fails to impress. GV Prakash Kumar’s music is just passable.

The theme of ambition, identity, poverty, identity, morality doesn’t get explored in this routine saga of a poor boy rising the crime ladder with guts and attitude and facing challenges from known and unknown corners.

Varun Tej fits in the role of Vasu and he impresses.  Meenakshi Chaudhary, as Sujatha, Vasu’s wife is fine in whatever scope she gets.

Nora Fatehi, making her Telugu debut as Sofia, brings her oomph.

Supporting cast is good - Naveen Chandra as CBI officer Saaho, Ajay Ghosh as Appala Reddy, Saloni Aswani as Padma, Satyam Rajesh as Prasad, Ravi Shankar as jailer Narayana Murthy, Kishore as Nani Babu, John Vijay as KD, and Roopalakshmi as Vasu’s mother everybody gives ‘Matka’ their strength.

But with all the visuals, an impressive lead, good action, ‘Matka’ fails primarily due to its lazy, weak and highly predictable storytelling.

 

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