Sacred Games 2(Netflix) Review

The first season of Sacred Games was an instant hit with the audiences & has achieved a cult following. Is the second season equally good? Read our review to find out!

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddique, Pankaj Tripathi, Neeraj Kabi, Aamir Bashir
Directed By: Anurag Kashyap & Neeraj Ghaywan
Produced By: Phantom Films
Genre: Crime, Drama
Duration: 54 mins per epsiode
Total Episodes: 8

Summary

Netflix made us for quite a while for the second installment of the cult classic crime-drama. The series picks up exactly where it left. Nawazuddin Siddique who plays Ganesh Gaitonde narrates the story further. Ganesh now finds himself in Africa & is under the control of RAW. RAW helps him setup & expand his business in Africa. His arch rival Isa, is now settled in Pakistan & is protected by RAW. Sartaj Singh(Saif Ali Khan) is trying to dig deeper & save the country from a catastrophe. Sartaj is made a part of NSA, thanks to his heroics towards the end of the first season.

The second season tells us more about Guruji(Pankaj Tripathi) & also about Sartaj’s strained relationship with his wife Megha. It also introduces some new characters, who make the show interesting. We are also told what it took Zoya Mirza(Elnaaz Norouzi) to reach the heights of bollywood stardom. Surveen Chawla plays her pimp – Jojo. Jojo shares an interesting bond with Ganesh Gaitonde, who is now in Africa under a new identity.

Will Sartaj be able to save the country from a major catastrophe? What was Guruji’s plan? What is Pakistan’s ISI & terror outfit Hizbuddin planning to do? You will have to watch the series to find out!

Strengths

The script revolves around a lot of real events & characters. The Bombay bomb blasts, Bombay being renamed as Mumbai, Babri Masjid demolition all find a mention & affect the storyline. The characters are based on the real life trajectory of Chota Rajan – on whom Ganesh Gaitonde is based on, Bunty who is based on Amar Naik & Arun Gawli & Isa who is based on Dawood Ibrahim.

The performances by the principal cast especially Nawazuddin Siddique is riveting. He is superb in his role & we can’t imagine, anyone else playing this role like he does. Anurag Kashyap, always manages to get the best out of him. Neeraj Ghaywan who has directed the events involving Sartaj’s storyline, too has done a good job. We think Neeraj has done a better job than Vikramaditya Motwane, who couldn’t match up to Anurag Kashyap’s brilliance, when it comes to this genre.

Out of the new characters, Surveen Chawla had our attention. Amruta Subhash as Ganesh’s RAW handler – Yadav Ma’am is very good. Pankaj Tripathi is pure dynamite as Guruji. Kalki Koechlin is decent. All the other supporting characters too have done a decent job.

Weakness

There are no glaring weaknesses in the second season. We just couldn’t help but binge on the show.

Verdict

The makers of the show have managed a seemingly impossible task – of living up to the expectations of the fans after making a killer first season. Kudos!

Our Rating: (5 / 5)