Saif Ali Khan to play the lead in Sacred Games, a Netflix India original

New Delhi: Actor Saif Ali Khan is set to play the lead role in Netflix’s India original, Sacred Games, the leading American video streaming platform said in a statement on Friday.

Khan will essay the role of Sartaj Singh, a police officer.

The series which is based on novelist Vikram Chandra’s Sacred Games that dwells on small-time hustling to armed gang wars, of good men going to seed and the upward mobility of baddies was announced over a year ago but there is still no clarity on when the series would go live on the platform.

In June 2016, Netflix signed up Phantom Films, a film studio founded by Anurag Kashyap, Madhu Mantena, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl to produce the series.

“Saif Ali Khan is a true pioneer and risk-taker in Indian cinema, and we could not be more delighted to be working with him on Sacred Games” said Erik Barmack, vice president of international original series at Netflix. “His role is layered and complex, and we are thrilled to be working with such a fantastic actor to bring this story to a global audience.”

Khan said that content in the digital space is fast taking over the existing dynamics at a rapid pace. “The crown in the digital empire lies with Netflix, and it’s extremely satisfying to partner and participate in the first original series from India to be showcased on Netflix.”

He was last seen in Vishal Bharadwaj’s period romance Rangoon which failed to succeed at the box office.

Set in Mumbai, Sacred Games delves into the city’s intricate web of organized crime, corruption, politics and espionage . It interweaves the lives of the privileged, the famous, the wretched and the bloodthirsty.

In December, Netflix signed a long-term content deal with leading actor Shah Rukh Khan’s production company Red Chillies Entertainment, for a three year period. Netlfix now has access to movies like Gauri Shinde’s outing Dear Zindagi and other films with ShahRukh Khan in the lead like Happy New Year, Dilwale and Om Shanti Om.