Sacred Games

Sacred Games has enough going for it to be considered a strong start. And for those who haven't sampled the impressive depth on Netflix's international TV series bench, Sacred Games provides the kind of intriguing thrills found in the best of those offerings--a worldly mise-en-scene that depicts something familiar but with unique local twists.

Energetic and entertaining, if not entirely satisfying (four of eight episodes were available for review), it toggles between stylized melodrama and loose-limbed satire--hewing, perhaps a little too closely, to the structure of Mr. Chandra’s sprawling novel.

There’s beauty in the way that all of this sinister intrigue is conveyed, but it’s a surface-level telling of a story that wants to have so much more in its grasp.

A raw, gripping crime drama in the best tradition of Godfather and Goodfellas. Laced with ambition and cruelty, this series shows an unvarnished underbelly of the criminal and religious organizations, one that grows through sheer determination and grit from the slums of the megacity. Nawazzudin is our Brando, he alone holds up this series like a weary, wiry Atlas, the weight of the dark underworld on his thin shoulders. He is a truly unforgettable character, seizing every scene with his audio or visual presence, combining so many complex traits into a singular character - filthy guttural language fit for the slums, noble-minded patriotism and vision for the nation, fierce loyalty to kith and kin, harsh brutality and fatality to traitorous scum. I watched this series for him, the rest were decorations. In these sacred games of melding politics and religion, one sees the standard template used by all dictators and autocrats today, in all types of nations both developed and developing. Manipulating the masses to slit each other’s throats is the oldest game of all. The series gives a much-needed insight into the Everest-sized mountains of **** that new age gurus preach around the world. It is fascinating to hear the glib, golden words slip from a so-called holy man’s tongue while at the same time espousing heinous crimes against humanity and indulging in perversions. In this age of lost souls, it is very easy to see how millions can fall sway to these mass brainwashing religion manipulators. However at the end of the day, their sacred vessels fail them and they taste of death, leaving a poisoned chalice behind for their followers to drink from. Pankaj Tripathi gives a master class in the role of the diabolic guru, just spectacular. On the ground level, it is quite sad to see brave souls fall victim to their carelessness and over-confidence. In the cutthroat ambition of outdoing your peers, no one can rely on their companions, and end up taking unnecessary risks of life and limb. The prevalence of meaningless killing is typical of such series, but the proliferation of meaningless suicide is even more alarming. Large characters are reduced to blithering, diminished fools with their needless sacrifices, which seems to be a running theme. I appreciate a cliffhanger as much as the next person, but the ending of this series left me with frustration and a lack of closure. This 16 episode arc covered many questions or morality, with each character vacillating between hero and villain, a final lesson was required. Like the fake guru claims, things cannot mean something and nothing simultaneously, there has to be a message or meaning to the journey.

Ashutosh Priyadarshi - This is the first web series in india with crime and thriller - Ashutosh Priyadarshi

This series is clearly over rated. All the actors in this series did perform very well no doubt about it but bollywood has produced several gangster based movies which are much better than this. Perhaps this is produced by NETFLIX so it has to be rated high. This whole story should never more than 1 season.