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Netflix releases Sacred Games - their first original Indian tv series starring Saif Ali Khan


Netflix releases their first original Indian TV series - Sacred Games. The crime drama stars one of our favorite Bollywood actors - Saif Ali Khan! This is just one of many Indian shows that have been green-lit by the streaming service. If it didn't feel like Netflix was already taking over the world it certainly will now! Growing up we never thought we would be seeing Indian based content in the mainstream media. This feels so great! It's a long time coming. We're really excited to watch this series and are looking forward to all the upcoming South Asian programming Netflix has in store for us!

Khan states, “It is very much an experiment. On Netflix, people are willing to watch programs from other countries with sub-titles because good stories transcend boundaries. However, we also want to get a lot of Indians into Netflix, [because] the internet is a big thing in India and a lot more affordable. Also, it has got to be something cooler, something edgier than regular television. We don’t know how many people are going to come to Netflix or whether it’s just going to be the English-speaking audiences in India. There are many questions, but the possibilities are huge."

The Guardian reports, "it is hoped that the crime drama will follow in the footsteps of Narcos, another international series that revealed an appetite among western audiences to broaden their horizons. Yet perhaps the biggest challenge Sacred Games faces is whether it can win over domestic audiences closer to home.

Based on the acclaimed book by Vikram Chandra, Sacred Games tells the story of Sartaj Singh, a jaded cop living under the shadow of his deceased father and seeking validation from a police force he nevertheless loathes for its corruption. When Singh receives an anonymous tip-off regarding the whereabouts of Ganesh Galtonde, a notorious crime lord who has been missing for 16 years, it sets the wheels in motion for a chain of events that burrows deep into India’s dark underworld.

That there has been nothing like it on Indian television before goes without saying. In India, the small screen has always been considered a poor cousin to the mammoth film industry, dominated by soap operas about scheming mother-in-laws and tried-and-tested generic formats such as Indian Idol.

Netflix has certainly cast its net wide in terms of audiences, with the hope that Sacred Games can pique the interest both of the urban youth who are already hooked on Stranger Things and 13 Reasons Why (both of which were among the most viewed Netflix shows in India last year), and also – with the internet becoming cheaper and more accessible than ever before – viewers from less affluent and rural areas.

With this in mind, Sacred Games has cast instantly recognisable names from the film industry, including director Anurag Kashyap and Bollywood star, Saif Ali Khan. The veteran actor has starred in more than 60 Bollywood films, including Dil Chata Hai and Omkara, a Bollywood remake of Othello for which he won a Filmfare Award. But casting him was a calculated decision that went beyond merely looking at box-office statistics."

Sacred Games is streaming on Netflix now! Check out the official trailer and interviews with Saif Ali Khan below!

 

Sacred Games | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix

Saif Ali Khan & Nawazuddin Siddiqui On Sacred Games

Saif Ali Khan interview on Sacred Games

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