Sacred Games

Last night I started watching a new television show called Sacred Games. I made it through about three quarters of the first episode. It does seem to be turning into a thriller with cops and gangsters set in Bombay or Mumbai. Like other Netflix shows, it is available in the original language with subtitles; or, you can listen to a version dubbed into English (which I don't recommend).

Mike Hale, in the Times, was mostly, but not entirely positive in his review:

Replicating the constant juggle of styles and voices in “Sacred Games,” a feat stretched out over more than 900 pages in Mr. Chandra’s novel, is a major challenge on screen — despite its verve and visual inventiveness, the series feels muddled and a little wearying at times. (And a lot of cultural and historical references will go over the head of non-Indian viewers.) But as Gaitonde says, his story is like a scorpion — once it stings you, you’re done for.

The novel, by Vikram Chandra, is over 900 pages long. Emily Temple described it as "A big, bustling, richly textured gangster novel set in Mumbai." I do hope to read it in the future. 

There is an interview with the author if you are curious. Here is one excerpt:

Vikram Chandra, a writer and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, explored the underworld of Bombay, now known as Mumbai, in his 2006 novel “Sacred Games.” In it, he looked at the links between organized crime, Bollywood stars, beggars and spies, and his book demonstrated how, despite problems like caste wars and corruption, India manages to hold itself together.

Read the rest here.