After Netflix's Wild Wild Country, sources say Pankaj Tripathi's character in Sacred Games 2 inspired by controversial godman
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 25, 2019)

With only three weeks to go before the second season of Sacred Games drops online, fans are eagerly waiting to see the road ahead for Saif Ali Khan's Sartaj Singh and Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Ganesh Gaitonde. While the Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane-directed season had fleetingly touched upon Pankaj Tripathi's character, Guruji, the recently released trailer indicates that the character will enjoy a prominent run in the upcoming edition. Interestingly, it has been heard that Tripathi's godman character has been loosely modelled on Rajneesh Osho.

A source close to the actor reveals, "Pankaj Tripathi's styling is almost similar to Rajneesh Osho, whose so-called religious movement was at its peak in the '80s. In terms of the writing too, Guruji's character seems to be woven like the cult figure." It may be recalled that the controversial godman was the subject of Netflix's popular documentary, Wild Wild Country.

For the uninitiated, Acharya Rajneesh, who had then acquired the moniker Bhagwan Acharya Rajneesh and Osho, had risen to prominence in the late '70s as a spiritual guru and the leader of Rajneesh movement. However, the controversial godman was later banned by several countries, including the US, when he and his followers were charged with a litany of crimes.