Sacred Games – India Gives Its First Binge Watch Series On Netflix – A Review
A hapless cop, a crime-lord, and a struggle to save the city from getting doomed with a dash of brutality and smuttiness, this is what you will get see in the world of Sacred Games; the newest addition and India’s first original Netflix series, which released just last Friday.
As the world of Netflix is getting bigger, it has roped in a large number of Indian audiences. Therefore in the continuity of its international campaign, Netflix gifted its viewers with this nail-biting, gripping Mumbai mob drama series and people have already given a thumbs up to this one. Based on the novel Sacred Games (2006) by Vikram Chandra, the series is directed by two famous Bollywood directors Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane, who has given depth to the narrative.
It starts with a white dog falling from a high rise building, in the next scene a woman brutally killed by a gangster and more such gruesome scenes follow in the eight episode-long series. Featuring Saif Ali Khan as Sartaj Singh, a low performing honest cop who has a stalled career in Mumbai and Nawazuddin Siddiqui as a crime lord, Ganesh Gaitonde, who compares himself with God. The high point starts when Sartaj gets an anonymous call (Gaitonde hiding his identity) which leads to a discovery of the criminal world, connections with Bollywood, other organizations and his police department.
The series is shot in two phases, as the present era of Sartaj Singh is directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, while the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s era of Gaitonde’s beginning as a mobster are directed by Anurag Kashyap. It also includes the writing of lyricist and stand-up comedian Varun Grover, accompanied by Smita Singh and Vasant Nath. Their engaging writing and callous storytelling, can throw you off completely and baffle you in the end, which will keep you craving for the second season.
Radhika Apte is seen playing the role of RAW agent, Anjali Mathur who seems ambitious and at any cost wants to solve the case, which means costing her own life. The surprise element of the series was Sartaj’s associate Katekar, played by Jitendra Joshi and Kubra Sait, a model, who played the love interest of Gaitonde, impressed the viewers with her bold and powerful avatar (you will be surprised). While Neeraj Kabi, Luke Kenny, Aamir Bashir, Pankaj Tripathi and many other talented actors, together, have done a tremendous job.
Some viewers might connect this series to Netflix’s South American show ‘Narcos,’ but the main background of Sacred Games is the use of religion. It shows the reality of how religion chisels Indian society, and as a tool or weapon, it helps people to serve higher purposes for their benefits.
The best part of the series is that it smoothly switches to different languages, i.e., Hindi, English, Marathi, and Punjabi, which makes it more authentic and organic. Don’t be surprised by the continuous usage of cuss words and crass insults because this is how gangsters and even normal people talk in the real world. Language plays a vital role in this series as the dialogue stays true to the ethos of the people that use it.
The makers have planned to make it a three season series, and with this start, Sacred Games has set a high benchmark. We believe it is going to give a tough competition in the international market and will be liked by all. This is a total binge watch series, and you will be glued to your TV’s, computers, laptops, or mobile phones. So be prepared and make a bucket of popcorn before you start. We give this series 4.5 out of 5, and you need binge right now.
