Sacred Games (novel)

Sacred Games is a book by Vikram Chandra published in 2006. Upon release, it received critical acclaim and subsequently won the Vodafone Crossword Book Award. Sacred Games combines the ambition of a 20th-century social novel with a cops-and-gangster detective thriller. Sacred Games delves into many emotionally charged worlds of contemporary India, in particular the spidery links between organized crime, local politics and Indian espionage that lie below the shimmering surfaces of its economic renaissance. Money and corruption form the golden thread. In interweaving narratives and voices, Sacred Games takes on even larger themes, from the wrenching violence of the 1947 partition of India to the specter of nuclear terrorism.

Plot summary
Sacred Games runs mostly on two parallel tracks, one winding through the criminal underground of Mumbai (then Bombay) in the 80s and 90s and the other through a tense modern-day hunt for the explanation behind a notorious dead gangster's bizarre final words. The only Sikh police inspector in the city is seemingly invited to pursue Mumbai's most legendary crime lord, Ganesh Gaitonde. Gaitonde reveals a harrowing timeline and a few hints of the identity of his collaborators before taking his own life. From there, we explore the forces that shaped Gaitonde into the dark figure he became and follow the police inspector as he tries to put his own life in order, solve a crime, and possibly save his city. Through interweaving narratives and voices, Sacred Games takes on even larger themes, from the wrenching violence of the 1947 partition of India to the specter of nuclear terrorism.

Publication history
The book earned Chandra a rumored million dollar advance from HarperCollins. The initial print run was 200,000 copies. However, sales were disappointing and it is estimated that the advance lost $655,750. It was critically praised, winning the 2006 Vodafone Crossword Book Award.

Series adaptation
Netflix, in partnership with Phantom Films, announced Sacred Games, a Netflix Original series based on the novel in June 2016. The series, primarily in Hindi, was shot on location in India, and released worldwide on Netflix on 6 July, 2018. The series features Saif Ali Khan as cop Sartaj Singh, Nawazuddin Siddiqui as gangster Ganesh Gaitonde and Radhika Apte as RAW analyst Anjali Mathur. The series consists of eight episodes of an hour each directed by Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane.

Awards and nominations

 * 2007: Awarded Salon Book Award
 * 2007: Nominated National Book Critics Circle Award
 * 2006: Awarded Hutch Crossword Book award