Netflix to retain Kashyap and Motwane

Netflix said on Tuesday that it would retain filmmakers Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap for the second season of 'Sacred Games.' The fate of the web series, starring Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, had become uncertain in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal involving its co-producer Phantom Films.

A statement by the streaming giant said, "After an independent investigation, the results helped inform Netflix's decision to continue with Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap on Season 2 of 'Sacred Games.' We continue to collaborate with our production partners to ensure and maintain a safe and respectful working environment.

Phantom Films, founded by Motwane, Kashyap, Madhu Mantena and Vikas Bahl, had hastily shut shop on October 6 shortly before a Huffington Post article drew attention to a sexual harassment allegation against Bahl by a female employee of the company.

The woman claimed that Kashyap had failed to take act on the complaint. Kashyap had issued a statement claiming that he had been ill-advised by his legal team, while Bahl filed defamation suits against Kashyap and Motwane for condemning him on social media in the wake of the allegations.Netflix had then said that it was "evaluating options on the path forward" for the show.

Kashyap and Motwane have co-directed the critically acclaimed first season of "Sacred Games," which is Netflix's first Indian original series. Based on Vikram Chandra's novel of the same name, the police-versus-gangsters saga was released on July 6. Motwane will serve as show-runner for the second season, while Kashyap will direct the show along with Neeraj Ghaywan.