Sacred Games is one of the best if not the best show on Netflix right now. The storyline of the show is the best Hindi entertainment has to offer.
After watching the trailer for Sacred Games and listening to Divine’s ‘Kaam 25’ I knew that this show was going to be amazing but I had not anticipated one of the lead characters to be Maharashtrian and the story to revolve around a person with Marathi roots.
Maharashtrians Till Now:
Before Sacred Games, I was used to seeing Maharashtrians either as a maid named Kantabai or Shantabai and that kind of roles. Other than that it was some recurring character who people forget right after the movie gets over.
Even when the whole movie or the show is based in Mumbai, it is rare to see any Maharashtrian character in any kind of lead.
If the movie had a sequence which required police, that was the only time you would see a Maharashtrian actor that too mostly as a constable and nothing more.
The series was a break from all these kind of roles. The lead character, Ganesh Gaitonde was a Marathi character played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
It is rare to find a lead Maharashtrian character, it is even rarer for a non-Maharashtrian actor to portray a Marathi role. I guess people in the Bollywood industry have some preconceived notion about us.
Apart from him, Shalini Vatsa, the actor from Peepli Live and Shahid played the brave and fearless Kanta Bai (Thekka Owner/Advisor).
Nawazuddin Siddiqui Can Swear In Marathi:
The first season of Sacred Games revolved around ‘Ganesh Gaitonde’ played by Nawazuddin Siddiqui who had his roots in the humble village of Islapur in Nanded district of Maharashtra.
It was a proud moment for me seeing Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing a Marathi character. Sure, being a gangster is right up his alley, but this particular role demanded much more. The versatile actor was able to fit in this character perfectly.
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Even though he had most of his dialogues in Hindi, he delivered his Marathi lines flawlessly. The dialect was a little off but his perfect pronunciations more than made up for it.
The line delivery, the use of Marathi words was impeccable and the abuses weren’t forced at all.
Marathi Actors In The Show:
It is a known fact that Anurag Kashyap uses local actors for his projects. But Sacred Games is an international show, so seeing Marathi Actors in important roles was a delight.
Apart from Radhika Apte, few other locally known Marathi actors were also part of the series.
Girish Kulkarni plays the part of ‘Bipin Bhosale’ (Home Minister). He already has two national awards under his name, National Film Award for Best Actor and also for Best Screenplay for his Marathi movie ‘Deool’.
He is a known face in the Marathi movie industry. No one could have played the character of the smug politician better than him.
Also, people familiar with Marathi entertainment would have easily recognized Jitendra Joshi in the role of Constable Katekar.
He is very popular amongst Maharashtrians and has hosted around 5 TV shows and is a part of some 30+ movies. He is known mostly for his comic roles and had a perfect comic timing even in Sacred Games.
These characters and actors will definitely help in breaking the stereotypical portrayal of Maharashtrians and pave way for other Marathi actors to be part of major projects in a better role.
Image Credits: Google Images
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