Mid-Day Anniversary Special: How breakfast in Bandra got Kubbra Sait the role of Kukoo in Sacred Games

We can all agree on the fact that one of the best things to emerge from the Netflix first Indian original, Sacred Games, which released in 2018, was Kubbra Sait and her character Kukoo. Sait made the transwoman feel like a friend, a friend we related to and empathised with. We also applauded Sait for playing a risky role, with an edge that was experimental.

Sait who was born in Bengaluru, moved to Mumbai from Dubai, where she was working with Microsoft, in 2010. She met us at the Bagel Shop, in Bandra West. She recounted the strange circumstances that led her to auditioning for Kukoo. She said, “I am and was always new to Mumbai [I still use the GPS within Bandra]. The word on the street was that the best bagels to eat were at The Bagel Shop. One not-so-suspecting morning, I ended up there for breakfast. That fateful morning I ran into screenwriter Swanand Kirkire and musician Ankur Tewari. Swa kept reminding me how I needed to act more; that I was good as an actor and needed to do more. It was at that exact moment that Ankur Tewari thought of recommending my name to Anurag Kashyap for Sacred Games,” she explained as she sipped on her beetroot juice. “If it weren’t for that brekkie, I don’t know what the trajectory would’ve been. But now, I’m not only well-fed, I’m also doing what I dreamed of.”

She told us that her first chat with Anurag Kashyap happened much later, even after the first audition. But the show gave Sait the momentum she had been waiting for. “It meant a big-ticket show. The dream of Sacred Games was planted in my head way before it even came to me. I had seen a press conference photo with the announcement, and secretly I had said to myself, ‘Something like this’. At that point, I was taking on any acting project that came my way. I was learning on the job. This was the game changer. I was willing to put all my eggs in this exciting new basket. The faith was instilled by Kashyap,” she added.

Right now, as she readies for her role in Son of Sardar 2, which will release next week, she talked of her love for Mumbai. “People in Mumbai are a notch above the rest of the world. This is a world city, and it has been home to many expats, migrants, dreamers. The relationships are somehow all collaborative. The energy is mental. It takes years to set, follow and flow in your own rhythm but I can assure you, you are never alone not on day one, or 15 years later.” Looking back on her journey, Sait holds a few lessons close to her heart. “Be patient. Be kind, first to yourself. You’ll be kind to your surroundings automatically. It takes years to build something from scratch. Be prepared to hear ‘No’ a million times before you hear your first ‘Yes!’ Be passionate or go home. This place has potential to be home. It is for me.”