Rumour has it that the senior management of Netflix
called for a quick meeting after the Phantom Boys- Vikas Bahl, Anurag Kashyap,
Vikramaditya Motwane, Madhu Mantena- split, yesterday. Since then, tongues have
started wagging that it may not be Anurag Kashyap and/or Vikramaditya Motwane
at the helm, who supposedly handled the project together (one wonders why they
didn't give more joint interviews, but rather Kashyap saddled with Nawazuddin
and Motwane was hardly in visibility?).
Anyway, so Netflix (who apparently has the rights of Sacred Games) had done the
Sacred Games deal with Phantom Films (where Reliance has stakes to the tune of
50 per cent). Now that Phantom Films is no more, will Netflix collaborate solo
with Neeraj Ghaywan and Anurag--- the two whom they announced to direct Sacred
Games Part 2? Will the Vikas Bahl assault on a female employee play on the
mind of Netflix, who threw out Kevin Spacey from their House of Cards?
Permutations and combinations may change. New equations may form. Sacred Games
Part 2 might not happen, or might happen with a new production house
altogether- who knows! Everything is fair in love, war and business, isn't it?
But it will be the saddest moment in the digital world if it is taken away from
the talented Anurag, who put his heart and soul in the first part and made it
into a praiseworthy project. And pray, how does Netflix include Vikramaditya (whom they
announced as a showrunner) now, since the three of them categorically spelt out
that they going separate ways), or will Vikramaditya and Anurag make an
exception for sacred Games 2?)? Or will it be just the Masaan maker Neeraj Ghaywan?
A Still From Sacred Games
Now, here is another problem. Ghaywan has hit out at
Phantom Films left, right and centre after the Vikas scandal details have
emerged. In a statement posted on Twitter, Ghaywan writes: "I have
felt absolutely disgusted by what Vikas Bahl did to a fellow team member. A
legal complication enabled that he couldn't be sacked owing to him being a
partner. that complication has enabled him to make another film while she
continued to go through agonising mental trauma. It was her choice not to speak
at the time and I respect that. However, we are complicit in that system. I
will speak for myself: I am complicit in working with the company that allows
it. I allowed myself to work where such toxic male behaviour and perverse
patriarchal mind-set fostered." Ghaywan has added that lack of women crew
members allows such behaviour to be "trivialised". "At a
personal level, I have been partially following some informal/unsaid rules as
far as my personal working ecosystem is concerned and I am going to stringently
enforce them from here on." Ghaywan has also declared that he will not be
signing any film with the banner that refuses to follow the PoSH guidelines.
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A Still From Sacred Games
Well, it's quite trippy at the moment is all that we can say. Too many questions. But no answers yet. We texted Anurag to check if the talk that Sacred Games might not come to him is true or not. But he chose to not comment. READ OUR TEXT MESSAGES TO ANURAG IN THIS MATTER:
Fate can really be very cruel, sometimes. Chori koi aur kare, aur saza kisi aur ko mile. It is important to note here that Anurag has come out and said that he failed the woman in question, while Vikas Bahl has been merrily making Super 30 with Hrithik Roshan. Why are we not castigating him as much as Nana Patekar? Is Nana a lesser mortal? Surely two wrongs do not make a right, but both wrongs should be equally condemned.This story will be updated if and when Anurag reverts, or when we hear of any latest develoment in this regard.