This article is also posted on SatyaVijayi
Sacred games,a web series directed by Anurag Kashyap & Vikram Motwane, is a story full of grotesque distortion of facts, murders, unbridled cussing and sexual violence committed only by its Hindu characters. Capper is, we pay Netflix for injecting this slow poison into our community, while the watchdog I&B ministry remains in slumber.
The story begins with the fall of a dog from a tall building, as few school girls watch. While this happens, a dialogue by Nawazuddin Sidique plays in the background-
“Tu Bhagwan ko manta hai? (Tu- you, Bhagwan- God, manta hai- believe in )
Bhagwan ko koi L**d pharak nahi padta” (Bhagwan-God, L**d- phallus, pharak nahi padta-doesn’t bother)
Ideally, these words would not offend anyone who has an appetite for such uncouthness, but assuming that using such a tawdry language in religious context would not cause any affliction to the religious sentiments of Hindu community, is being insensitive.
A pithy thought that strikes at the very beginning of this web series is – why do the thespians living in the megalopolis called Bollywood, love inflicting pain on their Hindu brethren? When was the last time Bollywood produced a movie on Mary Magdalane and Jesus Christ’s relationship or has stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits? But this is just the beginning of a story which assiduously tries to drill into its audience that the malice in India is a product of a single community- The Hindus.
The plot of Anurag Kashyap’s artistic tosh, Sacred Games, revolves around the life of a Gangster, Ganesh Gaitonde, played by Nawazuddin Sidiqui, who uses religion as a ladder to climb the stairs of success in the big, bad world of Mumbai. He believes in the most superficial translation of the mantra “Aham Brahmasmi”– I’m the God, the Supreme Being, one who cannot be killed; ergo he takes on the world with his gun, while for his voyeuristic pleasure, he depends on sexual violence towards women. Ostensibly, so do his other Hindu gang members.
For a story abounded in nudity, the directors tread on the issue of gender equality very carefully, as nudity is not limited to women alone, the scenes of sexual violence often show both the genders sans their robes. But Netflix can not be accused of flouting laws as anyone who signs up for Netflix has to specify that they are over the age of 18. Pith of the matter is, I&B ministry has no legal power to regulate content on the Internet, it is the responsibility of Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY). Add to this that the Information Technology Act, 2000, though contains some provisions relating to content regulation online, but that in no way is as elaborate as the framework that exists for television and film. Till more regulations are brought in, such loopholes will be exploited by the celebrated urban naxals of the thespian community.
Order constituting committee to frame regulations for online media
Sacred Games attempts at vindicating the aphorism- “transgenders are lucky”. In the story, a transgender plays a pivotal role in saving the city of Mumbai; infact it is reminiscent of the Mughal Harem, the forbidden place where women and transgenders were placed according to their proximity to the Emperor, just that the story gives an innocuous twist, replaces a Mughal Emperor by a Hindu Gangster.
In the pic- A still from the webseries Sacred Games, Ganesh Gaitonde (Nawazuddin Siddqui) with a Cuckoo (a transgender in the story)
Urban Naxals have very deftly been able to present a distorted version of the facts to suit their nefarious designs against Hinduism. The merciless and remorseless character of Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who occasionally dons saffron shawl, finds an “inextricable” link between the Shah Bano case and the Ramanand Sagar’s megaserial Ramayana; the audience is told- defeat of Shah Bano in the court (who was supported by Hindus) led to a furore in India, and Rajiv Gandhi cleverly doused the fire and appeased the majority, by airing Ramayana. Ironical as it may sound, Rajiv Gandhi and Congress have so far been known only to appease the minority in India, and that Hindus, who are a majority in this country, have always been given a rough shod treatment. But this is a story narrated by Anurag Kashyap who had previously humanized Dawood Ibrahim in his movies like Black Friday, we can expect more such cock and bull stories from him in the future.
In the pic- A poster of the movie Black Friday
Episodes of Sacred games have been named after Hindu mythological characters like Rudra, Ashwathama and Yayati; besmirching them. The season ends with Hero, played by Saif Ali Khan as Sartaj Singh, finding out that Gaitonde was planning a nuclear apocalypse for the city of Mumbai, probably inspired by Mahabharta. It really does not entail an explanation as to why Hindu motives, mantras, and mythology, have been transmogrified into mendacious nonsense by the cast and crew of this web series. Airing this story on Netflix is a proof that the venomous tentacles of Naxalism have now reached the cities and towns of India.
RSS and BJP, oft called the protectors of Santana Dharma, seem to not have been antagonized by this rebarbative story, while Bollywood’s inscrutable ways of discriminating against communities yet claiming itself to be the torch bearer of secularism and women’s rights, continues. Season 2 of Sacred Games will be launched soon, but will the Minister of Electronics and IT (MeitY) Mr Ravi Shankar Prasad, show some alacrity and censor the content before it is launched?