Sacred Games and The Spectrum of The Great Indian Cop.

When the news spread, of Netflix and the dynamic director duo(DDD, if you will) of Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane joining forces to create an adaptation of the crime-thriller novel with the same name, we were on the hype-train.

The 8-episode series was released on July 6th, to an audience which was ready to devour anything on the streaming platform with “Indian” written on it. And it was devoured alright.

Sacred Games has been a success, in the very essence of the word. The TV Series was widely applauded by both the critics and the often-doubting Indian audience. Netflix India knew what they were were getting into and gave the direction team a freedom that crime-thrillers set in Mumbai rarely enjoy, and that is precisely the reason that Sacred Games is in a category of its own.

Bombay, or “Bambayi” it is a city that is a living and breathing entity in its own, and it has been almost personified as a character in the saga. The streets, the lights and the daylight of 80s-90s Bombay, famous for its crime and gangwars. There have been loads of movies and books focusing on how the hierarchy of Gangs and crimelords has shaped the city in a defining way, but rarely has anyone presented the scene from the intense perspective of the Police that were tasked with cutting out the root of the tree they unknowingly sowed themselves a long time ago. This was their time to shine and boy, did they take it.

There was no other way, you either had someone high up the ranks OR struggled to even put food on the table. The show has done the job of capturing Mumbai Police in their lenses sensationally. They’ve made the characters real enough to almost be an acquaintance you’ve made.

Perhaps, you looked at Parulkar or Majid, or even the bromance of Sartaj and Katekar and thought, “Hey I know a cop like this!”

Well we try to tell you everything about the rainbow of Public-Protectors a Mumbaikar may run into some day soon.

The All Powerful Cop With No Conscience.

Your hate for Parulkar is justified. He’s always been a bad cop, and he has no morals, whatsoever. The worst of all policemen, he would sell himself if he got a good price for it. You’ve got no other way around with this guy, so if you need to get some work done, then you need to stoop down to his level and probably have deep pockets.

Is friends with a lot of high-class people, drinks only imported whiskey. NEVER buys his own whiskey. He’s not easy to frame.

Don’t mess with him. There’s no easy way out, comply or suffer.

The Cop You’ll Always do fine with.

Spoiler alert!

Katekar, the lifeline of the show. Funny, witty and a good guy in every scene! He had learned to blend into the system. He blended in, but never took undue advantages of his position. Katekar wouldn’t say no to a bribe, but he’d also never take a bribe for a murder. He’s THAT guy. A loyal companion to Sartaj, his exit triggered a lot of tears everywhere.

If your challan officer is a Katekar, relax. But if you’re on trial for a murder, well then too bad.

He’s a good guy, don’t have too much of them left in the cop industry.

The Cop Who’s Too Nice To Be A Cop

SARTAJ WHY! You were probably screaming at him in every scene. Yes, we get it that you have morals. It’s actually nice to have morals! But these are the people just not meant to be cops. A person with tight rules and good morality should be a teacher, or a parent, maybe even a politician for a change. Never a policeman.

This is a person who would do things by the book. Even if the book read, “Arrest eggs for breaking themselves.” then he would do it.

Sartaj got into a lot of trouble and stress due to his tendency and desire to always be right! Well, it doesn’t really work out all the time, or ever.

If you mess with him over a bad thing, there’s no way out. Not even bribing. Maybe you could bribe his senior(Obviously a Paruklar) and get work done!

Well. That should be about it. Now you know about the spectrum of cops you’ll find both on the screen and on your roads. Sacred Games taught us a lot about the policemen who work day and night to make the streets safer, even if a little. It’s not an easy job, and if you see a Policeman bhaiyya helping someone, or even just standing then walk up and tell them thank you!