A lot has been written and debated about the new Netflix original series Sacred Games already. Ever since it hit the streaming platform, earlier this month, the online world has gone into a state of frenzy. While a section of the audience is showering the cast and crew with praises, another bunch is getting busy with the task of making and sharing memes. Either way, this is making the global giant, Netflix, a very happy company.
And, with his turn as the never-dying head of a gang, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, has officially become synonymous with crime dramas. He is, indubitably, the best person in Bollywood to play a gangster today. His character, Ganesh Gaitonde, has been crafted with so much sensitivity and cunningness that it gets hard to call him a heartless person. On the one hand, he kills scores of innocent people just to throw his weight around – and as part of revenge – and, on the other, he doesn’t shy away from acknowledging his love towards Kukoo. This form of duality is present in the other characters of the show, too. But, for now, let’s make Kukoo and Ganesh the centre of attention.
Kukoo isn’t a blink-and-you-miss character, or a passing cloud; she’s a trans-woman (played by Kubra Sait) who’s loved by a cis-hetero man. This phenomenon doesn’t happen every day in the Indian television space. It’s a Kodak moment, in the scripting-sense, that needs to be preserved and studied. The next-generation-filmmakers will take Kukoo as a point of reference to pen similar characters / storylines.
In a poignantly written-and-directed episode, this revelation comes like a storm and passes off like a breeze on the beach. Anurag Kashyap, who has directed these portions, throws breadcrumbs at us exactly minutes before going for the big-scene where Kukoo exposes her man-and-woman parts for Ganesh to look at, and for the bewitched audiences to understand her identity better.
Here’s how it unfolds: Kukoo smiles at one of Ganesh’s associates as he catches her peeing in a urinal in the men’s restroom. And, we think it’s funny because we aren’t accustomed to watching women do that often on-screen. But a heated argument is taking place between Ganesh and his friend (Paritosh, played by Muni Jha) behind a closed door where the latter is arguing about the disgust that Kukoo brings with her presence. He urges Ganesh to marry a “decent girl”. And, if Kukoo is still needed, he can keep her on the side, he states. Kukoo’s ears, unbeknown to herself, catch this piece of conversation. And, in a fit of anger, she walks off with sorrow and regret dancing on her face.
Kashyap uses this built-up tension to show how Ganesh’s heart is in the right place as far as Kukoo is concerned. Upon realizing that the love of his life might have gotten hurt due to Paritosh’s comments, he rushes down a flight of stairs to comfort her, and breaks open the door. After seeing her in a crumpled and hopeless situation, he takes a step forward to utter sweet nothings, and nudges her to “come out of the closet”. At his insistence, she unrobes a little to give a peek into her real-self, all the time yelling, she can’t give him children. However, Ganesh assures her that he’s not at all worried about that. He tells her he wants her, come what may, with a beatific smile.
This wonderful segment tells us that we’ve travelled a long distance in portraying relationships that go beyond the “boy-meets-girl” pattern on television. We’re no longer afraid of exploring newer pastures in the digital field. The makers couldn’t have taken up such subjects within the landscape of traditional TV. So, the onus has fallen on the streaming services to bring us these sets of groundbreaking stories. And, I hope their writers’ rooms are bustling with ideas to tell the tales of marginalized communities.