Oh, poor Ali. He just can’t take a break. First introduced while saving Gi-hun’s life, even though they’ve never met before, Ali is arguably the most decent of the main characters. He is one of the first to join the central group, and quickly proves to be an asset as one of the strongest competitors physically. Its story is also one of the most tragic; Unlike the others, Ali is not in debt because of gambling or bad investments, but rather because of his shady employer refusal to pay him after an injury at his workplace resulting in the loss of two fingers. Because of this, Ali is unable to provide for his wife and child, which shows how immigrants in the labor market are often abused and exploited by Korean society.

As one of the few non-Korean actors in the cast, Anupam Tripathi holds onto his own, playing Ali as someone unfamiliar with both these specific children’s games and Korean traditions in general (see , for example, when he bows too deeply to Sang-woo, reverently calling him “sir”). In return, Sang-woo usually watches over him, hinting that he should hide his hand when picking teams – as a result, Ali begins to call Sang-woo “Hyung” or “elder brother”, making their bond even better. Deeper . Ali might be the bravest character on the show, trusting the friends he makes during games; in the end, however, it is too much trust, which leads to its downfall.