{"id":2922,"date":"2016-04-02T06:50:04","date_gmt":"2016-04-02T01:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2922"},"modified":"2026-07-17T20:17:48","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:47:48","slug":"netflix-sacred-games-powder-crime-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=2922","title":{"rendered":"Much Before Netflix\u2019s Sacred Games, There was Powder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"container page-content\"><p><span class=\"dropcap\">N<\/span><\/p><\/div><p> etflix\u2019s<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/sacred-games-netflix-saif-ali-khan-vikram-chandra\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games<\/span><\/i><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, directed by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/dev-d-eternal-soundtrack-broken-hearted\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anurag Kashyap <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/bhavesh-joshi-superhero-harshvardhan-kapoor\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vikramaditya Motwane<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, has been the darling of the Indian internet ever since it debuted on Friday. And why not? The series with excellent production values, star writers, A-list actors, and the country\u2019s finest technical team, does complete justice to Vikram Chandra\u2019s sweeping novel. And while at it, it makes India look really good on the world entertainment map. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But eight years before <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">saw light of day, another show with smaller names and a considerably modest budget made a quiet claim as perhaps the first global limited series to come out of India. Oddly enough, it was also an ode to Mumbai\u2019s underbelly. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Atul Sabharwal\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">released at a time when <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/the-secret-diary-of-a-saas-bahu-writer-indian-daily-soaps-television\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">saas-bahu sagas <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">were at their peak and synonymous with Indian television. It\u2019s imperative to note this cultural milieu in which the series was greenlit, to truly appreciate something as bold \u2013 dare I say bolder than <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games \u2013 <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">way back in 2010. Only because it was what studio executives considered anti-primetime TV. \u00a0<\/span>\n\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is an understated police procedural, and featured <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/pankaj-tripathi-fukrey-returns-newton\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pankaj Tripathi<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as Naved Ansari, the drug kingpin whose ghost-like existence ensures that there are no records available about him. He\u2019s chased by Usman Ali Malik (Manish Chowdhury) and his motley crew of cops from the Narcotics Control Bureau and the show dedicates itself to the gritty reality of not just the underworld but also the people responsible with its policing. <\/span>\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>Just like Sacred Games, Powder also cleverly breaks down the corruption chipping away at our country\u2019s bureaucracy and the police forces\u2019 tendency to break more rules than any criminal.<\/p><\/blockquote> \n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seen through the eyes of Malik, a conflicted top cop of NCB \u2014 as flawed a hero as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/sacred-games-netflix-sartaj-singh-saif-ali-khan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sartaj Singh<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 the show invites us in with a delicious bit of detail. As we soon learn, Malik\u2019s fervent obsession to nab Ansari stems from a personal connection: Both of them grew up in the same slum, their lives intertwined. It\u2019s their shared history that elevates the usual cat-and-mouse game to a fierce conflict between two distinct personalities, who, despite fighting on the opposite sides of the law, embody similar beliefs.<\/span>\n\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> brings this across by ambitiously affording its villain Ansari, who used to be a police informer, the search for redemption. National Award-winning actor Pankaj Tripathi\u2019s (who coincidentally also features in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/gurgaon-movie-film-review-shanker-raman-ragini-khanna\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">no longer an unknown name<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) restrained yet menacing performance is haunting, if not the best on Indian screens at the time. Ansari is as brutal and heroic a character as Ganesh Gaitonde and Tripathi channels the inner tumult of the dreaded <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/satya-gangster-films-mumbai-ram-gopal-verma\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">gangster<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with his blood-shot eyes and steely aggression. Like Gaitonde, the focus of his story was also personal: Ansari\u2019s relationship with his wife and younger brother bolsters his life and the proceedings, giving him the same poignant depth as Gaitonde\u2019s love for Kukoo.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games,<\/span><\/i> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">also cleverly breaks down the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/vice\/evolution-of-bribe-india-corruption-paytm\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">corruption <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">chipping away at our country\u2019s bureaucracy and the police forces\u2019 tendency to break more rules than any criminal. Interdepartmental rivalry assumes priority and is the reason why the NCB views the Anti-Narcotic Cell and the Customs Department as their \u201csautela bhai\u201d and vice versa. Instead of working in tandem, they actually work with the sole intention of outperforming the other and unknowingly slow down the proceedings \u2013 whether it is their fight over jurisdiction or the credit their respective organisation is bestowed in a newspaper report.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But the most fascinating aspect of the show is its female protagonist, Brinda Sawhney (Geetika Tyagi), a junior investigating officer. Like Radhika Apte\u2019s Anjali Mathur in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, even Sawhney struggles for credibility in a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/sports\/ipl-women-wags-cricket\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">world populated by men<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a world as deeply chauvinistic as RAW. The show emphasises on the fact that Sawhney has no other option but to work doubly hard and prove herself at every moment just to earn her place in her own team. The character was inspired by a real life IO named Kanta Tejwani, and according to Sabharwal, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was initially pitched as a show with \u201ca strong female protagonist in a very male world of law and crime.\u201d <\/span>\n\n<i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">too is embroiled in the underbelly of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/animals\/rats-mumbai-monsoons-india\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mumbai<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, its coexisting humanity and brutality. But most importantly, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> stands out because it offers you no villains \u2013 just characters of cinematic brilliance, depth, and complexity through whom the show addressed the larger issues of the time.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The striking similarities in the narratives between the two shows go on. Just when you begin thinking of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as the poor man\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you realise it released a good six years before platforms like <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/set-it-up-netflix-rom-com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Netflix<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Amazon gave free reign to directors, free of any censorship. <\/span>\n\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1531144967.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"742\" height=\"407\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-36665\" \/>\n<figcaption>\n<p>Powder brings this across by ambitiously affording its villain Ansari, who used to be a police informer, the search for redemption.<\/p>\n<p>Image Credits: Netflix<\/p>\n<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As a show that aired on a national channel, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> had to adhere to the usual standard network protocol, which meant that unlike <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it could have no nudity, sex, or even a throwaway cuss word. The team had to work around a budget of \u20b95 crore for a set of 26 episodes, which in 2018 seems just about enough for the production of one.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At a time when <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> dominated national attention, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a show ahead of its time, died a quiet death on Indian TV after just one masterful season due to \u201cpoor ratings\u201d. It\u2019s precisely why the script had been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/brunch\/atul-sabharwal-on-powder\/story-PxhefTvAkaU8LRkTHKKntO.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rejected by Star Plus<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2002 for being \u201ctoo steeped in research\u201d. Sabharwal\u2019s refusal to rewrite the script also set in motion a ripple effect : It led to YRF finally commissioning it in 2007. And the show going on air three years later and attaining a cult appeal. It finally came full circle when Netflix acquired <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for its Indian catalogue last year.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I also like to believe that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> may have played its part in helping <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and its creators to push the boundaries of realism and cinematic honesty. Granted, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> lacked the powerful superstructure that Vikram Chandra gave the creators of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sacred Games<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or its technical brilliance, and the luxury of superimposing religious symbolism as a throbbing undercurrent in the narrative. But as a commentary on the plurality of Mumbai and India, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powder<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> remains just as powerful.<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Go watch.<\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like Sacred Games, Atul Sabharwal\u2019s Powder revolved around a cop obsessed with nabbing a dreaded drug kingpin. It may not boast of the production values of a Netflix adaptation, but as a commentary on the pluralities of Mumbai, Powder was just as powerful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":2925,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[2777,3738,5816,1341,5817,5782,1207],"class_list":["post-2922","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-crime","tag-drama","tag-kubra-sait","tag-netflix","tag-powder","tag-sacred-games","tag-saif-ali-khan"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Much Before Netflix\u2019s Sacred Games, There was Powder<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Like Sacred Games, Atul Sabharwal\u2019s Powder revolved around a cop obsessed with nabbing a dreaded drug kingpin. It may not boast of the production values of a Netflix adaptation, but as a commentary on the pluralities of Mumbai, Powder was just as powerful.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=2922\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Much Before Netflix\u2019s Sacred Games, There was Powder\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Like Sacred Games, Atul Sabharwal\u2019s Powder revolved around a cop obsessed with nabbing a dreaded drug kingpin. 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It may not boast of the production values of a Netflix adaptation, but as a commentary on the pluralities of Mumbai, Powder was just as powerful.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ajay Chacko\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2922#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2922\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ajay Chacko\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40cfda3dd446a3b6e812e92638f3bb59\"},\"headline\":\"Much Before Netflix\u2019s Sacred Games, There was Powder\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-02T01:20:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T14:47:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2922\"},\"wordCount\":1080,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2922#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1531145190.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"crime\",\"Drama\",\"Kubra Sait\",\"Netflix\",\"Powder\",\"Sacred Games\",\"saif ali khan\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Pop Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2922\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2922\",\"name\":\"Much Before Netflix\u2019s Sacred Games, There was Powder\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2922#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=2922#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1531145190.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-02T01:20:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-17T14:47:48+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40cfda3dd446a3b6e812e92638f3bb59\"},\"description\":\"Like Sacred Games, Atul Sabharwal\u2019s Powder revolved around a cop obsessed with nabbing a dreaded drug kingpin. 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