Sacred Games 2: From Surveen Chawla’s Jojo to Amey Wagh’s Khushal, 8 Standout Supporting Characters in Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Netflix Series (SPOILER ALERT)

Sacred Games Season 2 is finally here, and it has left everyone with mixed feelings. While the show hasn't been as much as of a letdown as the final season of Game of Thrones, Sacred Games 2 has been very uneven compared to the intricately made, richly textured first season. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and Neeraj Ghaywan (replacing Vikramaditya Motwane from the first season), the new season crams a lot too much as it tries to make itself relevant to the current political plight. In the process, the show runs out of breath, rushing towards a frantic finale, where character transformations and developments change with very less context. Sacred Games Season 2 Memes: Netizens Unhappy With the Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Netflix Show, Flood Twitter With Funny Jokes.

Nothing on the performances, as everyone in the cast pitch in fine acts. Both Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Saif Ali Khan have been truly great as the gangster Ganesh Gaitonde and the beleaguered cop Sartaj Singh respectively. Others from the first season like Jatin Sarna, Elnaaz Noorani, Neeraj Kabi, Vikram Kochar have been good too. Sacred Games 2 Recap: From Tantric Sex to Mob-Lynching to Major Deaths, 15 Shocking Moments in Second Season of Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Netflix Series (SPOILER ALERT).

Among the new entrants, I wish Ranvir Shorey was utilised in a better way. That said, there were some actors and characters that stood out among the rest in the new season. Like the eight below:

Jojo Mascarenhas

Played By: Surveen Chawla

Surveen Chawla had a very brief role in the first season, but she more than makes up for that lack of screentime in the second. As the suicidal pimp with a guilty secret, Jojo strikes an unusual intimate bonding with Ganesh Gaitonde over the phone as they mull over death and failure. Who thought that an abuse like 'G**ndu' can sound so romantic! Surveen Chawla gives a very strong performance for what is a brittle role, though I was annoyed how her final fate was rushed.

Kusum Devi Yadav

Played By: Amruta Subhash

The RAW agent who kept Gaitonde on the hooks, while having an affair with Anjali Mathur's father, Kusum Devi Yadav was one of the most commanding female characters in the second season. She is fearless even there is a gun pointing between her eyes and has some very cool lines. Amruta Subhash of Gully Boy fame acted the hell out of her scenes, basically chewing Nawaz out of the picture. That is, until the makers decided to sideline her from the proceedings in the next half of the season.

Guruji

Played By: Pankaj Tripathy

The enigmatic Big Bad of the show - Guruji is an amalgamation of inspired figures like Osho, Swami Nityanand et al, albeit with very vicious intent. Guruji has this knack of attracting anyone with his silky voice and knowledge of Hindu mythology and philosophy. Ganesh Gaitonde is so enamoured with him, that he is willing to be the recipient of Guruji's free love. It's only later when Guruji reveals his doomsday plans and basically proves himself to be the Illuminati of Hindutva that we realise how dangerous this man is! Also, Pankaj Tripathi is superb in the role, but that is always a given!

Batya Abelman

Played By: Kalki Koechlin

As Guruji's favoured confidante-cum-future ashram in-charge, Batya is mysterious, seductive and powerful. She easily gets Sartaj to get addicted to the mysterious drug 'Gocchi', and nearly made him a puppet to her cause. At the same time, she was not very fond of Gaitonde, mainly for eating into Guruji's affections for her. If Sacred Games was a Batman series, then Batya is Poison Ivy.

Bhonsle

Played by: Gireesh Kulkarni

Minister Bhonsle had a small role in the first season, which is a little more expanded in the second. As the cunning and the perpetually annoyed, Bhonsle does everything to bring even his close associates down if his name is dragged in a mess. While he is Guruji's ardent follower, Bhonsle is oblivious of the fact that he has been responsible for bringing nuclear arms in the city. It is his foolhardiness and backstabbing that lead to his demise, and actor Gireesh Kulkarni steals the show every scene he is in!

Majid

Played by: Aamir Bashir

In the first season, Majid was portrayed more of a lackey to Inspector Parulkar (Neeraj Kabi) who often taunts Sartaj Singh. In the second season, we realise that being a lackey makes Majid fend off any aspersions about his religious identity. From baring his soul about being a minority to supporting Sartaj in front of his seniors, Majid became a more likeable character the second time around. Which makes his death, sniped by the terrorist Shahid Khan (Ranvir Shorey), all the sadder.

Khushal

Played By: Amey Wagh

Marathi actor Amey Wagh had a couple of scenes in the second season, but boy, it is difficult to forget any of them! Even though his scenes had little to do with the main premise, they leave a huge impact on how relevant the sequence is to the current political climate in India. As a bigoted Hindu youth, who kidnaps a Muslim teenager and tortures him over a cricket match scuffle, Amey delivers a performance that will make your skin crawl. He is particularly scary in the scene where he gets that boy lynched in front of a hapless Sartaj Singh.

Ram G Varma

Played By: Vijay Maurya

Anurag Kashyap throws a little fun shade at his former mentor, film-maker, Ram Gopal Varma. His equivalent, Ram G Varma, is a film-make obsessed with mumbling English and his mobile phone. Often wearing a disinterested and sometimes exasperated expression, this character gives the series some of its fun moments. Not to mention, his immense fondness for Sridevi that he cannot compare any girl with her!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 17, 2019 11:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).