How first Netflix Indian series scored 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and became a hit with critics
Bollywood stalwarts Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Saif Ali Khan star in the hit crime thriller Sacred Games that debuted last week as part of Netflix’s worldwide drive to produce programmes in multiple languages
The first original Netflix series from India, crime thriller Sacred Games, debuted last week to overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.
An adaptation of Vikram Chandra’s 2006 novel of the same name, the shows centres on a Sikh policeman in the Mumbai force and an enigmatic Mumbai criminal, and stars Bollywood stalwarts Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte.
The drama series, which has a 100 per cent “fresh” rating on the reviews aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes in its first week, has been launched at a time when the US streaming giant is battling Amazon Prime for a slice of India’s fast growing market for video on demand.
Analysts say the gritty underworld thriller sets a new benchmark for Indian-produced internet shows as providers seek to capitalise on the country’s rising number of smartphone users.
“Sacred Games is probably the most high-profile content that has been made. Others have not been on the same scale,” says Girish Menon, who tracks media and entertainment for KPMG. Revenues from India’s entertainment streaming industry are expected to be US$823 million by 2022, up from US$297 million in 2017, according to a PwC report released this month.
