NARCOS – AN ADDICTIVE HIGH...

How the man who ruled Columbia was brought to his knees

So, I finally made up my mind and decided to watch Netflix’s Narcos. Had heard a lot about this hugely popular fictionalized – biopic. The reviews ranged from –‘critically acclaimed’ to ‘I would go with a generous 2 out of 5 star for this disappointing TV series.’

Finally with polarized reviews in my mind, I decided to give Narcos a shot.

Narcos retells the meteoric rise of Pablo Escobar - the dreaded drug-lord – from a Paisa (Common-man) to a filthy rich Mafioso.

Pablo Escobar is one character nightmares are made of. So much power in the wrong hands can certainly bring an entire empire down.

Narcos is one series that transcends linguistic barriers and connects with the non-Spanish speaking population like myself. Well, not really. You certainly do need English subtitles for the Spanish dialogues as 80% of the proceedings are in Spanish, barring what the Gringos (Americans) speak in the show. Probably, that’s one reason why a certain section of the viewers didn’t like Narcos at all.

But Narcos without doubt is a perfect amalgamation of performances, direction, screenplay and background score. Yet, I wonder why Narcos hasn’t won any of the major TV awards. Calls for a riot!

For me Narcos is a standout piece in American Television. It’s the pride of Netflix, the son any parent would openly brag about in public; that’s what Narcos is for me.

Here’s what makes Narcos such a great series according to me:

The realistic Setting:

The rough Columbian terrain, the vast forest cover and the serpentine slums make the serial come alive. You do feel as if you are actually watching a crime espionage set in the 80s Columbia.

Coming to the second standout feature, and that is quite easily the integration between the real and reel scenes. The perfect mixture of then (real-life) television news – reports with the serial syncs in so beautifully that you are astonished by the monstrosity that happened for real in Columbia back then.

         The real-life footage of the communist takeover of the parliament, the Lufthansa flight bombing, and the market center bomb-blast real footage is indeed shocking.

The shit that went down in Columbia just for a whiff of a powder makes you wonder the level to which mankind can stoop down to for his own greed and power.

Which brings me to the highly debatable topic; was Pablo indeed the Robinhood bandit everyone made him to be?

It’s true he did build schools and homes for the deprived but it’s obvious that he had a vested interest in doing so. No RobinHood would place a bomb in the heart of the city to kill his own people, irrespective of the ulterior motive.

Narcos does glorify the rich lives of the drug-lords more than once but it also does highlight the atrocities committed by the drug cartels including their deplorable end.

During the last few episodes of the second season, you will find yourself feeling bad for Pablo Escobar’s plight (with a guilty conscience), in spite of the terror he brought upon the people of Columbia.

Though you know his end, you will find yourself watching with bated breath to see how the story unfolds. Trust me, each and every episode of the two seasons are interesting.

The story of Pablo Escobar is so vast and covers so many escapades that it would certainly take more than three seasons to detail it. However, the makers – not borrowing a page from Ekta Kapoor’s book – chose to end it on a high note.

I am curious for the third season and certainly look forward to it. A special mention of the lead characters Wagner Moura who plays Pablo and Pedro Pascal who plays Xavur Penna – The DEA agent.

Give Narcos a shot if you love gritty storytelling and a story based on real-life events (If you haven't watched it yet). Trust me; you will be a left with a thrilling-high!