Sacred Games (Season 1; 2018)
Life is like being at the beach. Sometimes the water is cloudy or appears unsightly with floating particles. The waves may be high and dangerous to be around. It may be too windy. The beach may be too crowded for comfort. At other times, it may just be perfect. We are only supposed to enjoy the moment whatever the circumstance. Forget the flare of the sun, the heat, the sunburn, the sticky bodies, the sand and the mess the wind and sea-water do to your hair. That is life for you and me. You are supposed to get the best out of it - the ups, downs, warts and all.
This Netflix flick has an entirely Indian plot, setting, cast with a story written by an Indian author. With a background of gangsterism and communal violence, it traces through the story of a Brahmin boy who went through a tumultuous childhood to end up as a Don in Mumbai. It unravels the saga of crooked politicians, corrupted policemen, a web of dishonest businessmen, a trail of counterfeit, transborder deflection and a world of sex and vice.
One may say that this is the typical plot in most blockbuster Hollywood movie anyway, but the storyteller managed to keep his audience at the edge of their seat second-guessing what the event that would happen in 25 days was all about. And the first season ended with a cliffhanger. The mystery still remains to be discovered.
Another thing captivating about the series is the title of each episode. It each carries with it an Indian tale, folklore and myth waiting to be told.
Aswatthama, son of Drona, the great teacher of both sides, fighting on the side of the Kauravas, killed the last remaining heir of the Pandavas. For that, he was cursed by Krishna with immortality and festering physical appearance. In the series, the protagonist, after his death, narrates his life story and hopes that his sins would be washed by preventing further catastrophes. In modern India, there are many reported sightings of an unsightly appearance of an apparition in the death of the night in temples, trying to clean its compound. Village folks insist it is Aswatthama himself.
Halahala is the poisonous fumes culminating from the serpent head as the Asuras and Devas were using it to churn the Ocean of Milk. Shiva inhaled the fumed as turned blue in that episode. The protagonist was holding the truth and was feeding the police bit by bit.
Atapi and Vatapi are folklore demonic cannibalistic characters who entice hunger travellers for a meal. Atapi will masquerade as a Brahmin and would call for Vatapi when food is ready who would feast them (the travellers). This is a metaphorical reference to religion. Like opium, it relieves the pain but then turns you into an addict. Religions prepare your soul for the slaughter. The episode tries to expose the devious nature of religions in provoking chaos and bloodshed among brothers.
Brahmahatya is commonly referred of the killing of a Brahmin, which is a big crime in Hinduism. Pandits, however, concur that it is not the life of a Brahmin that is valuable but any life, especially of a wise one. It also goes back to the Kurukshetra wars, when Drona, the great teacher of both Pandavas and Kauravas was beheaded for a just cause, for dharma, for equilibrium. Incidentally, Drona is also the father of Aswatthama, the one with the curse of immortality. Aswatthama has a reason for his anger. An elephant was named Aswatthama just to confuse Drona and send him off-guard before the slaying. The ever-truthful eldest of the Pandava brothers told a white lie to affirm Aswatthama's death (not to the human Aswatthama)! Truth is neither black or white, it is multilayered.
Sarama means dog. All of us are just metaphorical dogs being pulled around on a leash to the whims and fancies of the self-appointed peddlers of truth. We are not interested in doing the right thing but just conforming to the majority. Even the motto of Mumbai Police is 'Protect the law, destroy evil'. It is not to protect justice or dharma; just defend the decree deemed sacrosanct by the majority or the powerful.
Pretakalpa refers to cremation ritual. Every now and then, we need to rebrand ourselves. Kill the negatives and bring out the positivities. Still, you need both to spark.
Rudra is the personification of the most vicious form of Shiva. He is sometimes necessary to re-calibrate a broken system.
Yayati is cursed with premature ageing but manages to swap it with his son. After his long life, he returns the boon to his son to say, "indulge in something that does not decline with age. All the sensory pleasures cannot satisfy the lust of a single man,"
The makers of the show are unapologetically pro-BJP as many of the narrations, and historical footages put Congress leaders in a horrible light.
Life is like being at the beach. Sometimes the water is cloudy or appears unsightly with floating particles. The waves may be high and dangerous to be around. It may be too windy. The beach may be too crowded for comfort. At other times, it may just be perfect. We are only supposed to enjoy the moment whatever the circumstance. Forget the flare of the sun, the heat, the sunburn, the sticky bodies, the sand and the mess the wind and sea-water do to your hair. That is life for you and me. You are supposed to get the best out of it - the ups, downs, warts and all. This Netflix flick has an entirely Indian plot, setting, cast with a story written by an Indian author. With a background of gangsterism and communal violence, it traces through the story of a Brahmin boy who went through a tumultuous childhood to end up as a Don in Mumbai. It unravels the saga of crooked politicians, corrupted policemen, a web of dishonest businessmen, a trail of counterfeit, transborder deflection and a world of sex and vice.
One may say that this is the typical plot in most blockbuster Hollywood movie anyway, but the storyteller managed to keep his audience at the edge of their seat second-guessing what the event that would happen in 25 days was all about. And the first season ended with a cliffhanger. The mystery still remains to be discovered.
Another thing captivating about the series is the title of each episode. It each carries with it an Indian tale, folklore and myth waiting to be told.
Aswatthama, son of Drona, the great teacher of both sides, fighting on the side of the Kauravas, killed the last remaining heir of the Pandavas. For that, he was cursed by Krishna with immortality and festering physical appearance. In the series, the protagonist, after his death, narrates his life story and hopes that his sins would be washed by preventing further catastrophes. In modern India, there are many reported sightings of an unsightly appearance of an apparition in the death of the night in temples, trying to clean its compound. Village folks insist it is Aswatthama himself.
Halahala is the poisonous fumes culminating from the serpent head as the Asuras and Devas were using it to churn the Ocean of Milk. Shiva inhaled the fumed as turned blue in that episode. The protagonist was holding the truth and was feeding the police bit by bit.
Atapi and Vatapi are folklore demonic cannibalistic characters who entice hunger travellers for a meal. Atapi will masquerade as a Brahmin and would call for Vatapi when food is ready who would feast them (the travellers). This is a metaphorical reference to religion. Like opium, it relieves the pain but then turns you into an addict. Religions prepare your soul for the slaughter. The episode tries to expose the devious nature of religions in provoking chaos and bloodshed among brothers.
Brahmahatya is commonly referred of the killing of a Brahmin, which is a big crime in Hinduism. Pandits, however, concur that it is not the life of a Brahmin that is valuable but any life, especially of a wise one. It also goes back to the Kurukshetra wars, when Drona, the great teacher of both Pandavas and Kauravas was beheaded for a just cause, for dharma, for equilibrium. Incidentally, Drona is also the father of Aswatthama, the one with the curse of immortality. Aswatthama has a reason for his anger. An elephant was named Aswatthama just to confuse Drona and send him off-guard before the slaying. The ever-truthful eldest of the Pandava brothers told a white lie to affirm Aswatthama's death (not to the human Aswatthama)! Truth is neither black or white, it is multilayered.
Sarama means dog. All of us are just metaphorical dogs being pulled around on a leash to the whims and fancies of the self-appointed peddlers of truth. We are not interested in doing the right thing but just conforming to the majority. Even the motto of Mumbai Police is 'Protect the law, destroy evil'. It is not to protect justice or dharma; just defend the decree deemed sacrosanct by the majority or the powerful.
Pretakalpa refers to cremation ritual. Every now and then, we need to rebrand ourselves. Kill the negatives and bring out the positivities. Still, you need both to spark.
Rudra is the personification of the most vicious form of Shiva. He is sometimes necessary to re-calibrate a broken system.
Yayati is cursed with premature ageing but manages to swap it with his son. After his long life, he returns the boon to his son to say, "indulge in something that does not decline with age. All the sensory pleasures cannot satisfy the lust of a single man,"
The makers of the show are unapologetically pro-BJP as many of the narrations, and historical footages put Congress leaders in a horrible light.
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