sacred games netflix release date

Sacred Games: Finally, a Show That Doesn’t Shy Away From Religion

I couldn’t help but wonder if such crude comments about religion would have made it past the censor board if this were a Bollywood movie.

One particular line in Netflix’s Sacred Games has really stuck with me. At one point, Ganesh Gaitonde, played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui, summarises the Shah Bano case that fed into the polarised climate of the 1980s. Referring to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s actions, Gaitonde narrates, “But our former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, a pussy, overturned the court’s order and threw Shah Bano to the mullahs.” I couldn’t help but wonder if such a line would have made it past the censor board if this were a movie.

I’m sure most of the people in that room watching the show would have demanded a cut. And even if the censor board didn’t raise a fuss, then the mobs would have taken to the streets, demanding a ban. But I’m more sure that even hypothetically, there’s only a slim chance, if that, of a Bollywood movie getting away with calling a former PM a ‘pussy’. After all, politics has always been a controversial subject for a film industry that has a habit of producing mediocre, cliche-filled movies.

It is the establishment’s reluctance to experiment with anything new that is making Netflix the new destination for storytellers. In the case of Sacred Games, Netflix has given filmmakers the opportunity to explore the political thriller genre, and that too for a global audience, not just Indian.

The show, which essentially follows the lives of criminal Gaitonde and cop Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan) actually touches on a lot of hot button topics – politics, religion, morality, hatred, police, the underworld, gender and of course, love.

Both Gaitonde and Singh are men haunted by their inner conflicts. Anurag Kashyap directs Gaitonde’s track, charting the character’s journey from runaway kid to underworld don. The show doesn’t flinch away from depicting Gaitonde’s blasphemous opinions on religion. At one point, compelled to question his faith after a few setbacks, he declares himself god. Kashyap and Siddiqui capture Gaitonde’s struggle between faith and his belief in his own immortality beautifully.

Vikramaditya Motwane, who directs Singh’s narrative in the story, is tasked with portraying a man who, apart from belonging to a religious minority, is also part of a professional one – honest cops. To its credit, the show matter-of-factly depicts Singh’s consumption of anxiety medication as well as the ties that bind the entertainment industry with the underworld and politicians.

What really makes the show so relevant to today’s political current, is its blunt depiction of the rise of Hindutva. The story always maintains a direct link with our contemporary moment. Kashyap shows how nationa-level politics trickles down into the lives of individual characters. Gaitonde, who walked a secular line is reluctantly cornered into standing with ‘his community’ once mandir (temple) politics take hold of the country. What was once a conflict between two individuals (Gaitonde and Isa Suleiman) is reconfigured as a Hindu-Muslim fight. And, once Suleiman’s men kill Gaitonde’s wife, his reluctant religious affiliation turns into full-throated bigotry as he massacres Muslims in rage.

The show takes on mythical religiosity as well. Episode titles and narrative constantly evoke the Ramayana and Mahabharata, giving the show’s tone and dialogues a dramatic colour. It’s not that Indian audiences have never been exposed to religion and politics through films. But it has been a while. And, what makes Sacred Games so unique is the blunt, crude way in which it tackles religion. There’s no sugar-coating of faith and its effects here.

It is Netflix that has given the makers of Sacred Games the freedom to take on these subjects. Watching the show, it’s easy to feel the directors’ desire to break free from the chains of censorship which have stifled originality in Bollywood. It’s refreshing and delightful to see something on our screens that actually deals with the problems of our time.

Gurmat Singh Brar studies political science at Ashoka University, is a blogger, artist and an avid reader. He tweets @BrarGurmat and blogs at gurmatbrar.com.

Featured image credit: Youtube screenshot

Saif Ali Khan Shines in Netflix’s ‘Sacred Games’ And Aren’t We Glad to Have Him Back

The series is not flawless, but it’s still very good and sets a high bar for the other six Indian originals Netflix has planned.

The wait is over. Netflix has finally released it’s first Indian original, Sacred Games into the world. Based on Vikram Chandra’s novel by the same name, it is the story of Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan), an honest but jaded police inspector, who receives a tip about crime lord Ganesh Gaitonde’s (Nawazzuddin Siddiqui) return to Mumbai after 15 years. This phone call begins his descent into the dirty world of crime and politics, that is at the core of Sacred Games.

The series is directed by two of the best directors in the country, but has been shot separately – with Vikramaditya Motwane directing Singh’s story, and Anurag Kashyap shooting Gaitonde’s track. The story begins with the tip off to Singh, and then we are told that Singh has 25 days to save his city. From what, from whom and why, we don’t know yet.

We have a countdown, a gangster, a mostly failed cop – it feels like a classic chase. But as the story unfolds, with Gaitonde’s past and Singh’s present, we realise that this will not be easy for Singh. Because a policeman whose last catch was Sonu the pickpocket isn’t really taken seriously by his boss and colleagues. Plus he is trying very hard to be an honest cop, in a department that strongly discourages it. Enter Anjali Mathur (Radhika Apte), a RAW agent, who like Singh is fighting an uphill battle to convince her bosses to take her seriously. Although, like in the novel, the biggest character in the story is the city of Mumbai itself – its garbage which turns into gold, its dance bars and its anda pav.

The screenplay, adapted brilliantly by Motwane, and his team of writers- Varun Grover, Smita Singh, and Vasant Nath – has moved the timeline of the book, which is set in the early 2000s, to the present. And while the writers deviate often from the book, they are true to the soul of the source material – oftentimes adapting episodes from the book, changing them completely in the process and still managing to be very authentic. The screenplay, mostly taut and and compelling, falters in the middle as the story diverts a little too much from the impending doom of the city, instead focusing on abused TV actresses, a film star and her boyfriend, and Gaitonde’s relationship with Kukoo (Kubbra Sait). The dialogues are fantastic, and what really sets Sacred Games apart from most other content is that it isn’t afraid to use regional languages when it is organic, a technique used in one of Netflix’s most successful shows, Narcos.

Kashyap and Siddiqui are in familiar territory here, where Kashyap himself has directed Siddique in previous films charting Siddiqui’s rise from nowhere to crime lord. Gaitonde almost feels like it was written for Siddiqui. It plays to his strengths, and he delivers and how. But the biggest revelation in the series is Khan, who, as the unassuming but troubled Sikh cop is the most impactful. It’s been a while since we have seen Khan in something impressive on screen, but it’s good to have him back. The support cast is well cast with Aamir Bashir, Girish Kulkarni, Neeraj Kabi, Pankaj Tripathi and Radhika Apte delivering solid performances. But what truly is exceptional is Jitendra Joshi’s portrayal of Katekar, Singh’s aide, struggling between balancing his family and urgent police duty at midnight.

Sacred Games is the first foray into web content in India at this scale, it was a risk to take, and the gamble has paid off. At a very basic level, Sacred Games is the story of a gangster and a cop, but in reality it is a lot more, it is about crime, politics, religion, corruption, compromised security agencies and safe work spaces. It’s an Indian story to tell, but it fits in the global narrative. It’s not flawless, but it’s still very good, and if this is the first of the seven Indian originals that Netflix has planned, then the benchmark has been set quite high. For viewers, and for those who work in the content making industry, this is only good news.

All episodes streaming on Netflix since July 6.

Jayanti Jha, 23, is a former TV producer, who is currently trying to navigate life in the capital with her cat, all the while reminiscing about Bandra. She tweets @JayantiJha7.

Featured image credit: Youtube