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It's not just 'Sacred Games'. Other Netflix originals like 'Lust Stories' are breaking the Bollywood mould and telling stories that are too taboo for Bollywood.

It's not just 'Sacred Games'. Other Netflix originals like 'Lust Stories' are breaking the Bollywood mould and telling stories that are too taboo for Bollywood. Great job, Netflix!

iKSv2 8y ago
To be honest, its less about being a Taboo (see films like Chameli, Chandni Bar, Fashion) have tried telling taboo stories. Its the censor board which is so inconsistent that it doesn't even make sense. This platform helps them bypass it and its working, and its also being accepted by the viewers . Win-Win-Win
- taherchhabra 8y ago
  Censor board can censor Netflix as well if it gains critical mass in India. So the platform cannot help bypass the censor board
  - riantogo 8y ago
    Not true. Doesn’t apply to television and internet.
    - walrus01 8y ago
      Doesn't mean technologically ignorant judges and government agencies haven't tried their best to censor things on the Internet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_India https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_India
  - iKSv2 8y ago
    They can not. As long as its on Internet. They might have to ban Netflix in India all together, If I am not mistaken.
- dmix 8y ago
  Maybe I'm biased coming from (North) American culture but I'm always amazed at the level of government intervention Indians tolerate. Every time I read about the regulatory landscape there it blows my mind (ie, hearing how a truck delivering something across the country needs to stop 8 times in every county they pass to make sure they have proper paperwork). It's always terribly excessive and almost illogical by design (arbitrary laws to give abitrary power to the individuals impementing it).
  - iKSv2 8y ago
    "It's always terribly excessive and almost illogical by design" Well, its a basic human emotion, greed. Never gets satisfied. However absurd it might get.
  - repsilat 8y ago
    I think they're mostly being careful. In polite, educated society Netflix's content isn't going to cause any problems, but in some places there is a real danger to public order from broadcast media. "Fake news" has resulted in the deaths of dozens of people in India this year[1]. I think reasonable people should value free and uncensored media, but I also think reasonable people can disagree on the degree to which that freedom should be valued relative to public safety. It's certainly ugly to think "only people who can afford Netflix can be trusted to watch controversial content and not kill each other" though. 1: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44897714 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44897714
    - dmix 8y ago
      My response is the potential for abuse and the natural growth in scale and scope of oversight negates the utility of such control of media. I'd bet a thousand dollars for every violent act prevented through censure there were 100 arbitrary, social, or overly careful controls that had little real benefit to society. If America took this advice they'd have banned goth music and violent video games in a 'think of the children' antiviolence bullshit narrative. Not to mention the idea you can regulate your way out of 'fake news' (even ignoring the massive cost to culture, political freedom, and spread of knowledge) is ridiculous and naive.
bcosynot 8y ago
I wasn't expecting much from lust stories, but it was surprisingly (for me) good and compelling. Sacred games was everything I expected and more! Hopefully moves like this will raise the bar for TV programming across the country. Or atleast for the target audience I'm part of.

It's not just 'Sacred Games'. Other Netflix originals like 'Lust Stories' are breaking the Bollywood mould and telling stories that are too taboo for Bollywood. Great job, Netflix!

iKSv2 8y ago

To be honest, its less about being a Taboo (see films like Chameli, Chandni Bar, Fashion) have tried telling taboo stories. Its the censor board which is so inconsistent that it doesn't even make sense. This platform helps them bypass it and its working, and its also being accepted by the viewers . Win-Win-Win

taherchhabra 8y ago
Censor board can censor Netflix as well if it gains critical mass in India. So the platform cannot help bypass the censor board
- riantogo 8y ago
  Not true. Doesn’t apply to television and internet.
  - walrus01 8y ago
    Doesn't mean technologically ignorant judges and government agencies haven't tried their best to censor things on the Internet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_India https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_India
- iKSv2 8y ago
  They can not. As long as its on Internet. They might have to ban Netflix in India all together, If I am not mistaken.
dmix 8y ago
Maybe I'm biased coming from (North) American culture but I'm always amazed at the level of government intervention Indians tolerate. Every time I read about the regulatory landscape there it blows my mind (ie, hearing how a truck delivering something across the country needs to stop 8 times in every county they pass to make sure they have proper paperwork). It's always terribly excessive and almost illogical by design (arbitrary laws to give abitrary power to the individuals impementing it).
- iKSv2 8y ago
  "It's always terribly excessive and almost illogical by design" Well, its a basic human emotion, greed. Never gets satisfied. However absurd it might get.
- repsilat 8y ago
  I think they're mostly being careful. In polite, educated society Netflix's content isn't going to cause any problems, but in some places there is a real danger to public order from broadcast media. "Fake news" has resulted in the deaths of dozens of people in India this year[1]. I think reasonable people should value free and uncensored media, but I also think reasonable people can disagree on the degree to which that freedom should be valued relative to public safety. It's certainly ugly to think "only people who can afford Netflix can be trusted to watch controversial content and not kill each other" though. 1: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44897714 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44897714
  - dmix 8y ago
    My response is the potential for abuse and the natural growth in scale and scope of oversight negates the utility of such control of media. I'd bet a thousand dollars for every violent act prevented through censure there were 100 arbitrary, social, or overly careful controls that had little real benefit to society. If America took this advice they'd have banned goth music and violent video games in a 'think of the children' antiviolence bullshit narrative. Not to mention the idea you can regulate your way out of 'fake news' (even ignoring the massive cost to culture, political freedom, and spread of knowledge) is ridiculous and naive.

bcosynot 8y ago

I wasn't expecting much from lust stories, but it was surprisingly (for me) good and compelling. Sacred games was everything I expected and more! Hopefully moves like this will raise the bar for TV programming across the country. Or atleast for the target audience I'm part of.