A cryptic message from criminal underlord, Ganesh Gaitonde sets Inspector Sartaj Singh on a race to save Mumbai from Cataclysm. What is the relationship between Gaitonde and Sartaj? Who is Trivedi, the Supposed Lone Survivor of the impending Cataclysm? Why the Cataclysm in the first place? Is there a way to stop the impending disaster. Who is the brains behind this Cataclysm that could have driven Gaitonde to issue such a cryptic warning?
It is just a little over a week ago that a friend of mine hit me with the name "Sacred Games" a Netflix tvshow with a rating of 9.7 after the first 8 episodes, I was taken in, could this be a Netflix masterpiece or is this just another overhyped tvshow for a limited audience? Well it does seem as though it's a case of the latter rather than the former.
We will keep the review as short as the TV show itself.
The Show started off with a 55 minute season premier, and from kick off to the end, it felt like this one was going to be a gem for Netflix. The show kicked off with the cryptic call by Gaitonde to Inspector Sartaj Singh, which culminated in the warning of an impending Cataclysm in Mumbai. This felt like a classic Raymond Reddington move, short of Turning himself in to the police; but he went one better..( we won't spoil it).
From there on, it turned into a full blown chase to decrypt the messages hidden in Gaitonde's call. The introduction of the RAW agent Anjali Mathur who is also hot on the tail of Gaitonde. The corrupt elements in the police and in the government all exposed by the background narration of Gaitonde.
First, this story had no heart. As good a story as this show had, we just didn't have someone we could relate to. It was like the show had no heart, it didn't have emotions or feelings we could tap into. The obvious reputation of Gaitonde added spice to the warning he delivered, all good, how did he acquire that reputation? That brought about the back story of Gaitonde, and o boy was it boring. It was anti climatic at best, it just wasn't what we expected from the criminal underlord of Mumbai.
Sartaj Singh on his own seemed like a shallow character. From all indications he had no business with the calibre of case Gaitonde delivered to him, and we were very much interested why. The reason we got was at best too childish, but well.. Its India.
Again, the setting, why did they have to set the show in such a very uncomfortable place? It made me uneasy all through. The place just didn't look hygienic, it was borderline disgusting; peeling paint works on walls, algae everywhere and all that.
To conclude, it's a good story, narrated in amazing fashion, however we just felt that the story could have had more heart, more depth. Strictly speaking, we didn't really need much build up on some of the characters like Bunty, while getting little or nothing on Sartaj. The story telling was told from the present and narrated by Gaitonde from the past, serving as his back story, even though he effectively left the present in the first episode, we think that was a brilliant move.
The conflict is good, but not great. It is not a complex conflict, it's more of a simple conflict than a complex one. The plot effectively had just one sub plot, the conflict between Gaitonde and Sulaiman Isa, which we believe led to the events we are currently fighting to resolve. This essentially took away the thrill we expected at the beginning of the show.
The acting was borderline Indian, I wasn't impressed neither was I irritated. The way they kept repeating "mother fucker" in their accent was comic.. The on screen performance was reminiscent of your everyday Indian movie, and saying that Indians can act, so we didn't have a problem with their acting, and we also didn't think they were so great.
In all, a tvshow with good story, not too compelling story telling, a very good conflict that we are very much interested in its conclusion, good acting, but oh we must say it; No heart, no depth, it was just flat; no lows and no occasional highs, just borderline.
For those who want something different in terms of scenery, actors and the likes, this one is for you. It's much on the side of a thriller/ suspense than action, so make your decision wisely.
Saif Ali Khan
Nawazzudin Siddiqui
Radhika Apte
Neeraj Kabi
Jithendra Joshi
Directed by Anurag Kashyap
Written by Vikram Chandra
With this crew we definitely expect better delivery from this show when the 2nd season hits the airs.
FCA's AppR : 8 /10
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