Should you watch Sacred Games?

The first episode opens to a satisfying view of a familiar looking co-op housing society - and a white pomeranian dog falling endlessly while a voice in the background asks "Do you believe in god?" The voice continues, as does Fluffy's majestic plummet "God doesn't give a fuck."

At this moment, without the comfort of any of the five disclaimers that should've been there for this scene to have found its way to your screen, you realize you're watching a Netflix Original.

• At any rate, this is nothing like a Web-Series with an Indian Writer, Indian Director, Indian Actors, and Indian Music that you've seen before - and that itself is probably reason enough for you to give this a watch.
  
• The Star Cast is as good as it can get - with Netflix pulling out all the stops, giving a wonderful cast that seems to know what it's doing, at least most of the time. But when all else fails, there's Nawaz to keep you going.
• The lines. As long as you know and understand some amount of Hindi, you should refrain from watching it in English. (This is not 'Make in India' propaganda I promise.) The Hindi/Marathi/English mixture of lines blend seamlessly into a whole that anyone from Mumbai would feel a familiar warmth from hearing. (At least when there isn't gratuitous verbal abuse, which is near-omnipresent.)
• The 'Bombay' aesthetic. Whether it's the chawls, the clothing, the discos, or it's Mausam Beeta Jaaye from Do Beegha Zameen playing faintly on a radio - it's a visual treat from the theme to the credits.

If you decide not to watch it, for whatever reason, get ready to hear about it for some time - because it has been slated for a total of four seasons by Netflix - more to come!

Available on Netflix.