Ratan Khatri was a gambling ‘Kingpin’ and film producer widely regarded as
“Matka King”.
Notedly one Vijay Varma made a series based on the popular gambling
‘Kingpin’ Ratan Khatri titled
“Matka King”
Although, Prime Video’s Matka King features the character Brij Bhatti, it is not a direct, strict biopic, but rather a drama heavily influenced by the life and rise of Ratan Khatri who hadbuilt a massive, multi-crore illegal gambling empire in Mumbai from the 1960s to the 1990s. Acknowledged for introducing a systematic, honest, and accessible form of betting (Ratan Matka), he revolutionised the industry.
However,, though Matka (betting on cotton rates) existed, Khatri popularized his own version in
1962 the “Main Bazaar” system using a numbered card draw from an earthen pot (matka).
Notwithstsnding being an illegal enterprise, Khatri was acknowledgedfor his reputation for being honest, with a disciplined, “honest gambler” reputation that set him apart.
Reportedly he was jailed for 19 months in the midst of the 1975–1977 Emergency, promulgated by the them leading to a temporary decline in his operations.
Coming to his business he wasn’t only a bookmaker but also financed several Bollywood films in the 1970s and 1980s.
Reportedly, he gave up from the betting world in the 1990s and shifted to the next level in 2020 at the age of 88 in Mumbai.
News Input KV Raman