Review: The Criminal Life in Mumbai in ‘Sacred Games’
Saif Ali Khan in “Sacred Games,” a Mumbai-set crime thriller that is Netflix’s first Indian original series. Credit Netflix
By Mike Hale
Sartaj Singh, the hero of the new Netflix series “Sacred Games,” is a familiar figure in the landscape of hard-boiled fiction: the hapless honest cop whose integrity has cost him promotions, the respect of his crooked colleagues and the devotion of his wife. Because he works in Mumbai, his stalled career also means there’s no running water in his apartment.
“Sacred Games,” adapted from Vikram Chandra’s 2006 novel, opens the latest front in Netflix’s international campaign: India, offering both a vast pool of potential subscribers and an entertainment industry with global appeal. An array of future Indian projects has been publicized, but for starters Netflix has chosen a production from the same genre as a previous success, the American-Colombian “Narcos.” A gangster saga with a history lesson is apparently the best algorithm for cross-cultural success.
Credit: nytimes.com