Sai Tamhankar is happy with the response she has received to her performance as Barkha Bhatti in the period crime drama Matka King. Playing the wife of Vijay Varma’s Brij Bhatti, Sai brings restraint and emotional depth to a role that could have easily slipped into stereotype.

She says, “People have been telling me that the character felt natural and layered. That’s always satisfying to hear because you want the performance to feel organic.” For Sai, Barkha’s journey resonated on a personal level. Much like the character navigating chaos and uncertainty, the actress recalls her own early years after moving to Mumbai from Sangli.

“It took a lot of mental preparation to survive on your own and face everything a city like Mumbai throws at you. The city has given me a lot and taken a lot too, but it has shaped me into who I am today,” she says.

She describes Mumbai as a city that forces resilience. “It teaches you how to manage stress, how to take care of yourself and how to survive difficult situations. In the beginning, there were days when I genuinely felt this wasn’t my cup of tea. But over time, you learn how to deal with the chaos. And once you face chaos, you begin to value peace,” she says.

Despite working in an industry driven by competition, Sai says, “I don’t see myself as part of any race. The race is only with myself,” she says. “Everyone has their own talent and individuality. If you’re thinking long-term, there’s no point in being insecure,” she adds.

The actor acknowledges the inevitability of younger faces entering the industry. “After so many years of work, insecurity shouldn’t exist. Somebody younger will always come in — that’s the way life works. I believe that with talent, work will continue to come at every age,” she says.

Matka King’s trailer teased a story fronted by Vijay Varma, Sai Tamhankar, Kritika Kamra, and Gulshan Grover. But as director Nagraj Manjule’s maiden web series drops on Prime Video today, we’ll see another actor in the cast. Towards the end of the series, Viineet Kumar Siingh is seeded as a character, who goes on to become important in the already planned second season.

Insiders revealed that Manjule deliberately kept Siingh away from the promotions to maintain intrigue. “His character comes towards the end, but it’s meant to shift the narrative. The actor shot his portions mid-2025. His character leaves things at a point where you know he will matter a lot, going forward,” said an insider.

Set in Mumbai of the 1960s, Matka King revolves around a small-time cotton trader who starts a gambling racket.

In June 2024, Vijay Varma announced that he had begun shooting for filmmaker Nagraj Manjule’s web series, Matka King. The crime drama was included in Prime Video’s slate of projects for 2025, but was a no-show throughout the year. So, where does Manjule’s series stand over a year-and-a-half since it went on floors?

mid-day has learnt that the drama — which is set in the 1960s and tells the story of a cotton trader in Mumbai, who invented a form of gambling called ‘Matka’ — will première in April 2026.

A source revealed, “Matka King’s shoot was wrapped in 2025, and the top bosses at the streamer were keen to release it the same year. But a show of this scale needed time to get the best result. It will present Bombay of the 1960s authentically, and marks Nagraj’s first attempt at a period drama. The director doesn’t believe in rushing things to fit a deadline. The show is now ready and set to drop online in April.”