Sacred Games Archives

Sacred Games Season 2 and the Problem With Its Replaceable Women

Although, none of the female characters in the second season of Sacred Games are killed off cheaply like Radhika Apte’s Anjali Mathur was last season, the new season can be accused of something worse: falling into the trap of mistaking the mere inclusion of female characters as doing justice to them.

Poulomi Das July 22, 2016

Bollywood

Laal Kaptaan Review: A Laborious Period Drama that is Neither Poetic Nor Thrilling

Laal Kaptaan, a period revenge saga starring Saif Ali Khan, is dull and frustrating. The performances are caricaturish. Khan plays a Naga Sadhu chasing a cruel Mughal lord across Bundelkhand. He looks the part but never acts it.

Poulomi Das July 20, 2016

Gender

Anushka Sharma’s Trolls Prove That India Can’t Handle Real “Power Couples”

Anushka Sharma is facing yet another social media backlash – this time for being photographed with the Indian cricket team. Anushka can’t seem to catch a break. When Virat Kohli is not in his finest form, we believe blaming Anushka for existing is par for the course.

Kahini Iyer July 20, 2016

Pop Culture

Sacred Games Season 2 Review: Netflix’s Gangster Drama Has a Ganesh Gaitonde Problem

The second season of Sacred Games remains intriguing and baffling at the same time. It insidiously sprawls and at times, there is no differentiating between intent or accident, quality or scale. Moreover, it has a visible Gaitonde problem, a gospel it has built and now can’t shake.

Manik Sharma July 20, 2016

Features

How Rajkummar Rao Became Too Good for Bollywood

For a long time Rajkummar Rao, who neither came from a filmy family nor had the luxury of a lavish Dharma debut, was nobody’s idea of a hero. Yet in the decade that he has spent in Bollywood, he has redefined what it means to be a hero in his own terms.

Ananya N July 15, 2016

People

Lights, Camera, Gangsters: Growing Up With Mumbai’s Real Ganesh Gaitondes

I grew up in the Byculla of ’80s and ’90s, in middle-class insularity on the fringes of the gangland. Yet, I do not recognise the boys of Sacred Games. And I knew them well. They came to collect donations for Navratri and Ganpati, and they didn’t use creative expletives like the L-word.

Samina Motlekar July 9, 2016

Pop Culture

Mindhunter Review: A Second Season that’s Actually Good, Unlike Sacred Games

Both Mindhunter and Sacred Games became jewels in Netflix’s streaming crown on the backs of their riveting first seasons. But while Mindhunter manages to recapture the brooding atmosphere that was its signature, Sacred Games’ well seems like it’s starting to run dry.

Dushyant Shekhawat June 25, 2016

People

Sacred Games, Inside Edge, and the Belated Arrival of Aamir Bashir

Aamir Bashir has been around in Bollywood for two decades now. But it is only in the last two years, riding on the back of stellar performances in Gurgaon, Sacred Games and Inside Edge, that the actor is finally commanding attention.

Manik Sharma June 14, 2016

Pop Culture

Sacred Games: Why You Don’t Mess With the Marathi Tai

We can continue to criticise the portrayal of women as mere pawns in the sacred games of men. But take a minute to look beyond the obvious. The women in the Netflix series aren’t mere cheerleaders – they’re controllers in their own right.

Damian D'souza June 8, 2016

Pop Culture

Tune in to Torture: When Did TV Become So Bleak?

It’s not that every show should be a cosy sitcom populated by well-lit, attractive people. But do they all have to be a gritty rural crime drama, or a chilling biography of a serial killer? For some bizarre reason, logging into my Netflix has become like stepping into a dark and terrible world.

Kahini Iyer May 15, 2016