Sacred Games: Is A Strong Tale

Sacred Games is a top-class Hindi series. This complex yet insightful crime drama explores the contemporary theme of changing the Hindu-Muslim relationship in Mumbai, India. The series is based on the Sacred Games novel by author Vikram Chandra.

So, the social and political messages appeared in his novel first.

Equally important, this novel won the Hutch Crossword Book Award in 2006 for best work in English fiction. Furthermore, this novel narrates a sublime story of friendship and betrayal. Besides the setting of this tale unfolds in Mumbai – the modern glittering city with its dark and hidden underbelly.

Series Review [Spoiler-Free] of the Sacred Games (Seasons 1 & 2) Hindi

Thought-Provoking Hindi Mystery Crime Drama From India, With A Layered Tale

The synopsis

A brief note about this popular Hindi series

This show was released in the summer of 2018. When we first saw season one of Sacred Games, we found it a captivating and engrossing show to watch. Equally important, the web series was getting ready to take off in a big way in India at that time. Significantly, at that time, the timeline on our profile on social media platforms was full of praise for this. In terms of its plotline and acting, it was a breakthrough series from India. The online web series/movies had just started to make their presence felt in India. Add to the fact that its compelling story is based on an award-winning novel from India.

Indeed, this series has lots of positives going for it. Quite explicitly, the real-life incidents of 1980-1993 in Mumbai, India, have inspired its storyline. One can easily identify some of its characters and real-life incidents that happened in India.

Inspired by quite a few real-life characters

So, in this series (novel), the character of Ganesh Gaitonde is loosely based on real-life gangster Arun Gawli. On the other hand, the character of Sulemani Isa is based on another real-life gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Additionally, we could state that the stories of Gaitonde and Isa’s rivalry are based on reality.

Henceforth, in this show, Isa flees to Dubai after carrying out the 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blasts.

Its first season has two directors – Motwane and Kashyap in

For the first time the two directors, viz., Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap have worked together on the same project. So, they directed and shot this show in a rather interesting way. Anurag Kashyap directed the Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) angle of the story, on one hand. Whereas, Vikramaditya Motwane took care of Sartaj Singh’s (Saif Ali Khan) storyline. Thus, both Kashyap and Motwane shot the stories of Ganesh Gaitonde and Sartaj Singh simultaneously, in their style. Season one of this series covers the first quarter of the original novel, which has 928 pages.

Whereas season two takes this story further. However, its fans expect more seasons of it. And it certainly did quite well. But not as good as the first season.

About its talented group of Indian actors

This was the first web series by actor Saif Ali Khan, who played the protagonist Sartaj Singh with great conviction. Nawazuddin Siddiqui played the equally important character of Ganesh Gaitonde in a typical earthy manner.

In addition, a wonderfully talented bunch of actors have superbly supported Saif and Nawazuddin and their complex story. Its accomplished ensemble cast includes – Radhika Apte (Anjali Mathur), Surveen Chawla (Jojo Mascarenhas), Rajshri Deshpande (Subhadra), Anupriya Goenka (Megha Singh), Kalki Koechlin (Batya Abelman), Ranvir Shorey (Shahid Khan), Pankaj Tripathy (Guruji), Aamir Bashir (Majid), Shalini Vatsa, (Kanta Bai), Neeraj Kabi ( Parulkar), etc. A few actors have appeared only in one season of this show. Nevertheless, all of them have done a tremendous job in this well-told story from India.

The conclusion

Its plotline delves into the social and political issues that confront India in the 21st century. So, this show touched upon the tragic historical partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Therefore, in a way, it paints a realistic portrayal of changing society in India. It is primarily a Hindi-language show. However, some of its characters often speak in languages like Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati, etc. Thereupon, it portrays the sheer diversity of the microcosm Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay) megapolis. In addition, this series has depicted life in this busy financial capital of India in a smart manner.

Thus, it turns its camera on some of the poorest neighbourhoods. Besides, it focuses on the lavish lifestyles of gangsters. This series delivers the key messages. Explicitly, it is about defeating India’s communal politics. Also, a need for much greater unity among the different communities of India. Significantly, this show has recently topped the list of the most popular Indian web series of all time. And we agree with this ranking. It is one of the top series to come out of India. To conclude, most definitely, the first season is indeed a great one, while the second season is good, too.

Key Details of the Sacred Games (Seasons 1 & 2) Series

Poster of season one of the Sacred Games (S1/2018) Series

Rating of season one of the Sacred Games (S1/2018) Series

Teaser of season one of the Sacred Games (S1/2018) Series

Top 5 Ganesh Gaitonde Moments | Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Sacred Games | Netflix | YouTube.

Almost every episode of season one of this show has a direct reference to the Hindu epic Ramayana, either in the form of the popular 1980s comic adaptation (episode one) poster of Hanuman and Rama and Sita (episode 2 and 3) the 1988 tv series Ramyan (episodes 4) performances (episode 6) or in the series dialogue, for example as Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) in episode 7 threatens the Muslim population of Mumbai with the fires of retribution, he refers to Hanuman's revenge at the hands of King Ravana In then Ramayana on the City of Lanka.

Spoilers Alert: Bonus Information About 8 Episodes of Season 1

Aswatthama was cursed with immortality after the Kurukshetra war. So he became a Chiranjivi (immortal) due to a curse given to him by God Krishna.

Halāhala (or Kālakūṭa) is the name of a lethal poison. It came out during the Samudra Manthan. Then, God Shiva drank the Halahala to prevent the calamity. Thus, he saved the world and the universe from the destruction of the deadly poisoning. 

Aatapi and Vatapi were two dangerous demons. They used to trick travellers with their hospitality and kill them mercilessly. 

Brahmahatya means the murder of a Brahmin (Brahminicide), the greatest of the sins, the mahapaap. 

Sarama is a mythological dog referred to as the female dog of the gods, or Devashuni. Therefore, in one of the ancient tales, Sarama helps lord Indra (the king of the gods) to recover divine cows stolen by the Panis Asuras.

Pretakalpa is the rites and rituals to perform the cremation of the followers of Hinduism. It is read when the last rites of a deceased Hindu are performed. Thus, it is about the cycle of life, death and beyond. 

Rudra is the name and form of God Shiva. He is the one who drives away evil. Also, the Rudra avatar of God Shiva is the personification of terror. The Rudra (रूद्र) traces its roots to the Raudra (रौद्र) word in Hindi, which means extreme and fierce anger.

Yayāti was a powerful king of the Kuru dynasty. He was obsessed with youthfulness and worldly pleasures. Hence, he married Devayani, Shukracharya's daughter. However, to fulfil his lustful desire, he molested Sharmishtha. This sinful incident made Shukracharya very angry, so he cursed Yayati with premature old age. Yayati lost his youth and became frail and feeble. 

Poster of season two of the Sacred Games (S2/2019) Series

Rating of season two of the Sacred Games (S2/2019) Series

Trailer of season two of the Sacred Games (S2/2019) Series

Spoiler Alert: Bonus Information about the 8 Episodes of Season 2

In the first of his ten incarnations, God Vishnu took the form of Matsya (a fish) to save primaeval man (the humans) from the worldwide flood that deluged the entire land areas of the world.

Siduri is another avatar of Goddess Durga, the one who wears Sindhoor on her hair partition on her head.

Apasmara is a dwarf who represents spiritual ignorance and nonsensical speech.

According to the Tibetan language, Bardo is a translation of the Sanskrit term antarābhava, which means “existence in the interval”, referring to the period between death and rebirth. 

The name Vikarna came from his character of either not listening to anyone (because of his self-esteem and ego) or listening and capturing wisdom through his (large) ears. Thus, Vikarna's name contains two meanings.

Azrael is the angel of death in Jewish and Islamic religious beliefs. Thus, this angel watches over the dying and separates the soul from the body.

Torino (aka Turin) is an ancient city that is situated in the Piemonte region of Northwestern Italy. As per the legend, it is rumoured to be surrounded by the magic. Furthermore, it is said that this city was built at the confluence of two rivers called Po and Dora. These two rivers form a 'Y' in the city, and they symbolise the good and bad duality of humans in a real sense. 

Notably, the Radcliffe boundary refers to the international border line between India and Pakistan on the Indian subcontinent.

Awards & Nominations won by the Sacred Games (Seasons 1 & 2) Series

Featured Images and Posters of the Sacred Games series | Netflix India.