UAE expat switches off phone after 'Sacred Games' flashes his number

Indian expat Kunhabdulla CM had never heard of the Netflix series 'Sacred Games' till he started receiving random calls from around the world asking if he was Sulaiman Isa. Isa is a fictional gangster character played by Saurabh Sachdeva in the series. Unfortunately for Kunhabdulla, the show flashed his phone number as that of the gangster.

The Kerala native said he has received over 200 calls "from India, Pakistan, Nepal and several Gulf states" since the first episode of season two of the series aired on August 15. "One caller said 'you have killer game'. I don't even watch the show. I realised there was a show on TV like this only after all the calls came flooding in."

Kunhabdulla has been forced to switch off his phone and use an alternative number because of the incessant calls.

Netflix has since removed his number from the show's subtitles. The American media services provider and production company has also issued an apology. "We apologise for the inconvenience caused. As soon as we were alerted of the situation, we resolved the issue."

Kunhabdulla, a UAE resident of 18 years, is now screening his phone calls. "I only attend calls from numbers I recognise. I got worried when people said things like 'killer game'. I feared it was part of a bigger conspiracy and I was in trouble. I usually never get so many calls."

He had purchased the number since it was "special". "I saw the '111' in the number and purchased it for Dh20."

The Sharjah resident hoped that the calls would eventually slow down, and he can go back to using his special number again.

He said his wife didn't believe him when he told her about the ordeal. "She joked that people were calling me because I gave my number to everyone."

'Sacred Games', starring Indian actors Saif Ali Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui, is one of the highest-rated Indian shows on the streaming website. Kunhabdulla's number was flashed during a scene in which an Indian agent hands over a piece of paper containing his number.

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah

Dhanusha Gokulan

dhanusha@khaleejtimes.com