Having wrapped up Africa schedule, Nawazuddin says Gaitonde’s arc set for unexpected turn in Sacred Games 2
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; January 28, 2019)

“I have left no stone unturned to absorb the nuances of Ganesh Gaitonde,” begins Nawazuddin Siddiqui, aware that his crime lord character from Sacred Games has become an icon in its own right. With the first season of the homegrown Netflix original having won much applause, the onus is on the makers — directors Anurag Kashyap and Neeraj Ghaywan, and showrunner Vikramaditya Motwane — to present a worthy second instalment.

Fresh off the Africa schedule, Siddiqui says, “This season will be the baap of the first one. Even if people know Ganesh Gaitonde, they won’t know what to expect from him. We shot extensively across Mombasa [Kenya], Cape Town and Johannesburg.”

Point out how the new season — slated to drop online mid-2019 — comes with its set of expectations, and he says, “I realised the impact of the show when I was shooting in Rome, a week after its release. People came up to me to click pictures. My team would show me the memes that were doing the rounds on the Internet.”

Before starting their final week-long schedule in Mumbai tomorrow, Siddiqui says that like most collaborations with Kashyap, this too has been “worthwhile”. “When Anurag is working with me, he is constantly pushing me to break my own boundaries. It comes from familiarity and my ability to go on a rollercoaster with him. as an actor, I am someone who enjoys twirling myself up.”