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Join UsSacred Games Movie Review Rating: 4/5 Stars (Four stars)
Star Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Radhika Apte, Jitendra Joshi, Jatin Sarna, Neeraj Kabi, Surveen Chawla, Elnaaz Norouzi, Pankaj Tripathi, Aamir Bashir, Vikram Kochar, Samir Kochhar, Girish Kulkarni, Chittaranjan Tripathy, Rajendra Shisatkar, Anupriya Goenka, Sukhmani Sadana, Danish Pandor, Nawab Shah, Rajshri Deshpande, Kubbra Sait, Karan Wahi, Geetanjali Thapa and Jaipreet Singh
Director: Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane
What’s Good: The freedom that Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Varun Grover have got to design this masterpiece, that’s what is good. “Kabhi kabhi toh apun ko lagta hai Nawazuddin Siddiqui hi bhagwan hai” – this guy acts like there’s no tomorrow. Saif Ali Khan & a stellar supporting cast which we’ll discuss later in the review.
What’s Bad: Stuff such as this could never even knock at our CBFC’s office forget about them certifying it. As far as the series is concerned, it kept my mind numb throughout to notice anything bad about it.
Loo Break: The first season consists of 8 episodes, so you’ll need a loo break on your natural course of time & not during any episode.
Watch or Not?: Watch only if you’ve a Netflix, don’t be a pirate because a gem such as this comes very rare & we should back people behind this.
User Rating:
Sartaj Singh (Saif Ali Khan) is an apathetic yet honest policeman who is burdened under the great shadow of his deceased father, who was known for his integrity and morality in the same field. One night he gets a call from Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) who warns him to save Mumbai else the city will go to dust in 25 days. Sartaj, clueless of why someone an infamous crime lord like Gaitonde will call a small-time cop like him, starts to dig deeper in the case.
The team of Mumbai police consisting of DCP Parulkar (Neeraj Kabi) and Majid (Aamir Bashir) tackling a different back-story of Bengali Bura tries to solve the Gaitonde case with their terms, whereas Anjali Mathur (Radhika Apte) of RAW (Research & Analysis Wing) shows them a different style to solve this. ‘Save Mumbai in 25 days’ – under this main plot we get to know how Ganesh became the Ganesh Eknath Gaitonde & why after being underground for 16 years he’s back.
Sacred Games Movie Review: Script Analysis
Anurag Kashyap has achieved Nirvana with Sacred Games. To attain Nirvana one has to follow some simple steps and Kashyap has accomplished every one of them. The first step is – have right view – the idea of adapting the 2006 novel to celluloid to be helmed by someone like Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane was the start of an enchanting vision that’s finally in front of us. Second step is – have the right intentions – a crime drama with Varun Grover on board
Sacred Games Movie Review: Star Performance
Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Ganesh Gaitonde will go down the books as one of the most evilish characters ever written. He is not in the zone that’s just dark, he portrays the character with every bit of his soul & jumps between the zones. Saif Ali Khan as a jaded policeman is commendable. He doesn’t say much but his expressions do the trick. Also, he has got the Punjabi accent somewhat accurate. Kubbra Sait will be remembered as Kukoo for a long time. A brave attempt to dwell into such a complicated character & she was amazing in that one emotional scene with Nawaz (You’ll know if you’ve already watched it).
Jitendra Joshi as Katekar – my second favourite after Nawaz. This guy is a powerhouse of talent. Saw him first in Marathi movie Duniyadari & then in Ventilator. He makes you laugh with his natural comic timing & is very affective in emotional scenes too. Casting directors from Bollywood, if you’re reading this please bring him on-board, please. Radhika Apte justifies her role, as a recent article read she literally is on a winning spree. Ghoul is awaited! Neeraj Kabi delivers yet another fine performance. Here he gets comparatively less screen time but with whatever he gets he manages to leave a mark.
Pankaj Tripathi shines with his extended appearance but with whatever we’ve seen in the 1st season, we are sure of one thing he will rule the upcoming seasons (hope so!). Jatin Sarna as Bunty emotes his expression with perfection. He is bad & has looked bad (in a stylish way) on screen. Shalini Vatsa as Kanta Bai is the most bad-ass character of the series. She sometimes is a feminazi but it is okay to bear that when you get to see such entertaining avatar of not-your-typical Indian woman. Luke Kenny is a miscast! Hope he proves me wrong in the upcoming seasons. Danish Pandor is hilarious-yet-fierce as Bada Badariya. Rajshri Deshpande has some really bold scenes in the series and pull them off with grace.
Sacred Games Movie Review: Direction, Music
Anurag Kashyap & Vikramaditya Motwane have brought the book to justice on celluloid. In no frame you feel how they are trying to rush the exceptional material they have in the season 1. The process of the series is like a chess, the makers put forward the pawns in the start keeping the king for the last. It is Kashyap’s brutality vs Vikramaditya’s emotions throughout. Just a random thought for everyone who has seen this, what if the series was named as Gangs of Bombay?
Alokananda Dasgupta’s original score binds in well with the polished screenplay. It does what music in such series should do. Divine’s Kaam 25, unfortunately, is not used in the series but it’s the theme of it if you listen to it as a standalone song.
Sacred Games Movie Review: The Last Word
All said and done, Sacred Games is the best thing to come out of Indian television – thanks to Netflix. It’s dark, intriguing and will keep you on the edge of your seats. The wilderness of Mumbai plays as the ethereal backdrop throughout the series. A MUST (Binge) WATCH!
Four stars!
Sacred Games Trailer
Sacred Games releases on 6th July, 2018.
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