Sacred Games is popular drama series that aired on Netflix. It is riveting, resolute, engaging, and taut and offers a no holds barred thrilling combination of violence s*x, politics, bigotry, religion, and terrorism, thereby setting a new benchmark for gangster movies in Bollywood. The series has been critically acclaimed for nearly all aspects of film making, including screenplay, casting, direction, cinematography, and acting, etc. It has also become a huge hit with the audience.
Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, the series is based on the novel ‘Sacred Games’ by award winning author Vikram Chandra. The two main lead characters are gangster-don Gaitonde played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Inspector Sartaj portrayed by Saif Ali Khan. It also features a host of characters brilliantly enacted by different actors.
Presented below is a list of the best characters in Sacred Games.
- Ganesh Gaitonde: He is a flamboyant gangster who wrestled himself out of abject poverty as a child and went on to become a dreaded gangster in Mumbai. He dies (shoots himself) in the very first episode of the series and this triggers a range of events expressed in the past, present, and the possible future. Siddiqui brings in a variety of emotions into the character, of resignation, lust, desperation, lust, defiance, and fury, ensuring stark visibility of nuanced and effortless capture of changes in moods of Gaitonde. One of the best aspects of Gaitonde is the truths that he utters hidden deep within cuss-filled dialogues.
- Sartaj Singh: Inspector Sartaj is a reserved person who quietly goes about his job. His honest father, who was also a cop, is his idol. He has also followed an honest, corruption path, played by the rules, and performed his duty likewise. This resulted in him being shunned and ridiculed by his colleagues and bosses and in lack of promotions and career growth. The opportunity to be able to finally solve and crack a case of significant importance takes hold of Sartaj and he indulges in different tactics to ensure that he gets his due credit, so long owed to him. The second season will probably delve a lot more into his character’s personality and other traits.
- Anjali Mathur: Portrayed by Radhika Apte, Mathur is an intelligence officer who gets assigned to solve the suicide of Gaitonde and his threat of destroying the city. She works with Sartaj and wants to trust him, but her training as an intelligence officer prevents her from doing so. This wrestling of intuitions within is enacted with grace and dignity by Apte. Mathur is also angry and full of angst about sexism that is widespread in her agency and keeps on trying to prove the fact that she is the best in both field work as well as office work.
- Kukoo/Cuckoo: She is the most surprising character in Sacred Games. She has also become really popular with the audience. Kubrait Sait plays the role of Cuckoo, a transgender woman. She has stunning looks and is a sensual dancer at a night club frequented by the rich and the powerful. She is confident; she knows that she has everyone eating out of her hands and that she has the entire city dancing to her very need. Yet, when the curtains fall on the false glamor, she shows her vulnerability after falling in love with Gaitonde. Her character in the book is not more than a line long, but in the series, it has been developed beautifully and becomes an integral part of the storyline.
- Constable Katekar: Played by Marathi actor Jitendra Joshi, Katekar is the constant companion of Sartaj. The two of them share a special bond of brotherhood. Katekar does not like Muslims, but realizes his folly and becomes more humane. He is wise but has a sense of mischief about him, and his personality is quite colorful. He is also caring, a fact elicited by his act of feeding the fishes at the fish tank at workplace. Even though he trusts and respects his senior partner, he knows how the system works and better understands the predicament of honest Sartaj. Katekar is not just a sidekick, but a major contributor to the storyline.
- Subhadra: She is the wife of Siddiqui. Her character is effortlessly played by Rajshri Despande. She appears timid on the outside, but can be snarly and contemptuous and also a pillar of strength for Gaitonde as per the demands of the situation. Subhadra’s role may be smaller as compared to other characters, but she shines through loaded with passion and some fine dialogues.
- Bunty: The right hand man of Gaitonde, Bunty worked hard and came up the ranks after overcoming stiff competition from other wannabes. Bunty’s character is portrayed by Jatin Sarna. The wide range of emotions, from sheer hatred to ruthlessness, from fear to pure lust, from arrogance and brashness to sadism, and from loyalty to treachery, all have been ground into the character of Bunty.
- Malcolm: Enacted by Luke Kenny, Malcolm is a cold blooded assassin. He makes and changes many major decisions on the spot, which turns the story on its head. His unflinching appearance appears weird and his calm eccentricity gives the viewers the goose bumps. He has no remorse about anything that he does and will go to any lengths to finish the job entrusted to him, to fulfill his agenda.
