Apr 17, 2026 4:34pm IST
‘Matka King’ Star Kritika Kamra on How TV Empowered Her and Why OTT Shouldn’t Be Driven by Numbers Alone (EXCLUSIVE)
From playing Arohi in the TV show “Kitani Mohabbat Hai,” to becoming Gulrukh, a Parsi lady, in “Matka King,” Kritika Kamra has slipped into diverse roles with ease and has left an impression with every character she has played. The newly married actress credits TV for her financial independence and also empowering her to say no to work that did not appeal to the actress in her. In a candid chat with Variety India, Kritika Kamra talks about how her biggest pursuit is being known as an actor who knows the craft.
How was the experience of working with Vijay Varma and Nagraj Manjule on “Matka King?”
“Matka King’’s got a fantastic team behind it with Vijay (Varma), Nagraj Sir (Manjule) and others. It was an interesting experience because this is a part I have not attempted before. I play a young Parsi woman who comes from a wealthy and protected environment and gets sort of attracted to this man and a game that is both dangerous and illegal. She starts making her own money and finds a sense of purpose and a sense of financial liberation. She helps bring the game to her part of society and it grows exponentially. So, it's a very interesting, unique kind of journey. It's from this really naive, sweet girl to becoming like, you know, a person who's instrumental in popularizing this game amongst the rich and the famous. For her, it’s almost like becoming a woman.
And I found it very interesting. Najraj Sir has been on my wish list for a long time. I watched his film ‘Fandry’ at MAMI many years ago. It stayed with me. Then ‘Sairat’ came and the whole world watched it. And I knew there was the same filmmaker. So, when I got to know he's making something in Hindi, that too a series, a long-format project, I wanted to audition for it. I wanted a shot at it. Vijay Varma is a very intelligent actor. He's a trained actor.
The expectations are automatically high for him. And then I got to know about my part, which also worked beautifully for me, because she's directly involved with the plot of the show, with the game, and in sort of expanding the game that we are tracing the origins of through the show. So, it ticked all the boxes. I had a great time working on it.
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What is your take on the quality of roles written for women on OTT?
At this point, I think there are all kinds of shows. There is variety, definitely, there is so much diversity in script writing, in the kind of female characters that are being written in the world that we are exploring in genres. So, I'm really enjoying this sort of buffet. Particularly for me, I have been fortunate to be part of shows on OTT that have been quite defining in my career.
And I've got the chance to work with some of the best filmmakers. And right from ‘Tandav,’ which was my first OTT outing, I have chosen projects with filmmakers that I've always wanted to work with. So, it has given me that opportunity, which I don't know if films would have given me.
I've done three films also. My last film, 'The Great Shamsuddin Family,' was also on the web. That gave me a chance to collaborate with Anusha Rizvi. So, it's been very fulfilling as an artist. And I hope that it continues to be this way. I hope that it continues to have the creative freedom that it has enjoyed so far. I hope that it doesn't go the television way.
While the OTT boom is real in India, we are still far behind the UK, US and South Korea in terms of multi-genre storytelling. What is your take on that?
I don't know the exact numbers or the statistics. But I do feel that we have a larger scope than what we are currently doing. I think that's why I said that I fear that it’s kind of becoming formula-driven. I hope that we stay away from that. Because if crime dramas are doing well, we see only crime dramas. This is the pattern that is followed on film and television as well.
You know, as one film does well, and then you see 10 different films that are all on the same lines. Television has always been TRP-driven and very much about what's popular, what's working right now, and then all the shows will start having that track. I really hope that doesn't happen to the web.
I think they're right to call it out because this was the USP of the medium. This was the attractive part. That's why so many filmmakers made these big shows on the web. The medium brought so many filmmakers, actors and interesting voices together, because there was a space to do that. If OTT is also going to be completely driven by data and numbers, I think the space for creativity will become really narrow.
And it's going to affect the choices that I have as an actor. So, you're right, there is a lot of scope to do better and more diverse storytelling, which was the promise of the OTT boom when it began. But now it's becoming a little homogenized.
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