Netflix released its first ever Indian production, an adaptation of the famed novel ‘Sacred Games’ by Bipin Chandra, on Friday, July 6. Starring Saif Ali Khan, Nawazzudin Siddiqui, and Radhika Apte in lead roles and directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, the series has been garnering rave reviews and appreciation all over. Narrating the story of Mumbai’s criminal underbelly through the eyes of a ruthless gangster and a troubled policeman, the series tackles crime, politics, religion, corruption, integrity, justice etc., and shows how inseparable all these are in the fabric of the Indian metropolis.
Even though the genre is similar to the famed Narcos, another Netflix crime drama rooted in history, Sacred Games is unique in terms of the story, narration, and the setting. The series primarily follows the policeman Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan) after he gets a phone call from gangster Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazzudin Siddiqui) challenging him to save the city from an impending disaster in 25 days. Intercut with this is the story of Gaitonde himself, from his childhood to his growth as a don in Bombay aka Mumbai. The director duo decided to shoot both the narratives separately, with Vikramaditya Motwane crafting the Sartaj Singh portions and Anurag Kashyap taking care of Gaitonde’s life and rise. This approach works like a charm, giving both the narratives a distinct flavor and fluidity while being part of the same wholesome story.
From the first scene where a dog is seen falling to its death from a high-rise, we know that this is not something that the Indian audience is used to. Without the hands of the Film Censor Board or other institutions to control, the directors have taken full advantage in showing and using violence, nudity, expletives, and religious and political references to tell their story effectively. As expected with any Indian production challenging the status quo, there has already been a police case filed against the show for ‘degrading’ Rajiv Gandhi, the erstwhile Prime Minister of India, among other complaints claiming the series crosses many levels of decency. This is a very common occurrence in India, someone is bound to take offense or something or the other, and I hope Netflix doesn’t bow down to such pressure and allow to be regulated in the nation.
Sacred Games is path-breaking also in terms of not spoon feeding information with regard to the culture and setting of India, as opposed to many major international productions based in the country. Also relevant is the fluidity in terms of the languages used – the characters are shown to speak and switch easily between Hindi, English, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Farsi, etc., and this captures the true essence of the multi-lingual nature of Mumbai and India as a whole.
With regard to the cast, it is Nawazzuddin Siddiqui who shines the brightest. Ganesh Gaitonde is even more complex than his famed Faizal Khan from the Gangs of Wasseypur movies (directed by Anurag Kashyap again), and he has essayed the role with complete finesse. Saif Ali Khan has done justice to his character and portrays the policeman struggling with personal and professional demons with relative ease. Other actors who deeply impress with their stellar performances are Radhika Apte as RAW agent Anjali Mathur, Jitendra Joshi as Constable Katekar, and Kubra Sait as Kukoo.
With Sacred Games, Netflix has sure made a great start to the Indian market and talents, now we have to wait and see how it helps in the evolution of Indian entertainment spread across multiple languages and industries. Speaking for myself, I would love to see a good comedy sitcom coming out of India and am eagerly waiting for it.