Aamir Khan hails Vijay Varma as Ratan Khatri in ‘Matka King’: 'A character I'd have loved to play'

The world of OTT is buzzing with the success of Nagraj Manjule’s latest period drama, Matka King, and it has just received the ultimate "perfectionist" stamp of approval. Aamir Khan recently took to social media to praise the series, admitting that the central character of Ratan Khatri is one he would have personally loved to portray. As the series trends on Amazon Prime Video following its April 17, 2026 launch, industry heavyweights like Ramesh Taurani, Vicky Kaushal, and Karan Johar have also joined the chorus praising Vijay Varma’s magnetic performance.Aamir took to his Instagram stories to share a poster of ‘Matka King’, starring Vijay Varma. Khan said he would have loved to play the Ratan Khatri character and wrote, “Congratulation to Nagraj, Sid, Vijay, and the entire team of Matka King. Ratan Katri is a character I would have loved to play. I'm sure Vijay must have killed it. Will be watching it soon after Ek Din's release. Hearing only great things about it. Congrats once again.” Ramesh Taurani, the producer, gave the show high marks and shared, “Just finished watching this amazing show. Vijay Varma, you’re an amazing actor. Congratulations Nagraj Manjule, Roy Kapur Films. Watch it now on Prime Video."Vicky Kaushal hasn't seen ‘Matka King’ but added it to his watchlist, writing, “Next up on my watchlist…from one of my fav directors! Looking forward… MATKA KING." Meanwhile, Aamir Khan shared a note that read, “Congratulations to Nagraj, Sid, Vijay, and the entire team of Matka King. Ratan Khatri is a character I would have loved to play. I’m sure Vijay must have killed it. Will be watching it soon after Ek Din’s release. Hearing only great things about it. Congrats once again. Love, a".‘Matka King’, set from 1964 to 1975, follows Brij Bhatti, a keen cotton seller. He teams with a shamed ex-soldier and a rich widow to start "Matka" betting. It grows from small fun to a big hidden business for people let down by free India. Out on Amazon Prime Video since April 17. Made by Nagraj Manjule, it stars Vijay Varma, Sai Tamhankar, Kritika Kamra, Gulshan Grover, Bhupendra Jadawat, Jamie Lever, Vineet Kumar Singh, and more.