Sacred Games Web Preview - Deliciously sinister, definitively sharp

Nawazuddin Siddiqui in a still from Sacred Games

Director: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radika Apte
On: Netflix

For anyone who has devoured Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra, India's first Netflix series, based on the same material, isn't just a mere show. It's something we are expecting big things from. And if Ashwathama, the first episode of the series is anything to go by, the screen adaptation will be one addictive affair.

The first scene has a dog falling off a high rise and lying in a pool of blood, conveying the gory nature of what we are about to witness - the unfolding of a series of events that will hopefully weave into a taut thriller. Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap get the pace right. In no time, the set-up is laid out - a divorced cop, Sartaj Singh's life oscillates between waiting outside his ex-wife's home and grumbling that his last claim to fame was nabbing a pickpocket. His life changes when a dreaded underworld don, who has been MIA for two decades, calls him one night.

In stark contrast to Sartaj is Ganesh Gaitonde who believes he is God and that is menacingly palpable in his chilling back-story. Sartaj and Gaitonde are played brilliantly by Khan and Siddiqui; the latter being more interesting by virtue of the writing.

The first episode traces Gaitonde's rise as a criminal kingpin, leaving behind a disturbing suggestion - Bombay is getting razed to the ground in 25 days.

Before Sartaj can get the details, Gaitonde has hung up. Why does he call Sartaj? What is about to happen in 25 days? Slick and seductive, Sacred Games leaves you craving for more. Let the binge begin.

Also Read: Author Vikram Chandra Opens Up About His Book Sacred Games

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