Bangkok, Jun 27 (IANS): Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who is gearing up for the release of the series "Sacred Games" on Netflix, says he likes to play complex and not cliched characters on screen.

On his role in the show, Nawazuddin said: "I had great fun. I like to play such characters which are complex and not cliched. I like to play those roles which are a little different and those which we think live next to us."

The much-awaited show, produced by Phantom Films, is based on the critically acclaimed best-selling novel of the same name by author Vikram Chandra.

The series, in which Nawazuddin plays a criminal, is co-directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap.

Asked about the popularity of digital platforms, he said: "It is good that the platform does not have any issues of censorship, so Anurag Kashyap has openly made this series. And we have put all the 'badmaashi' (naughtiness) that was in his brain, in it (the show)."

"Sacred Games" focuses on Sartaj Singh, a seasoned and cynical Mumbai Police officer, summoned by an anonymous tip one morning by a voice which promises him an opportunity to capture the powerful Ganesh Gaitonde, criminal overlord of the G-Company. It has Saif Ali Khan in the lead role.

Nawazuddin, who will also be seen as late Urdu writer Saadat Haasan Manto in Nandita Das' "Manto", was at the 19th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards, where he bagged the Best Supporting Actor honour.