Paatal Lok Season 2: Journey Through Hell Redux

Every time I am on the brink of losing faith in the Hindi language entertainment industry, they spring a surprise on me and nip my preconceptions in the bud. I was late to the party the first time Paatal Lok aired back in 2020. It was at my wife’s constant goading that I decided to give the fabled series a try and boy was I hooked! I remember binge-watching Season 1 till my eyes hurt and my conscience was shredded to pieces. ??

Paatal Lok Season 2 Builds on Season 1

Paatal Lok Season 1 introduced viewers to Hathiram Chaudhary, a grizzled, middle-aged cop enduring the daily grind of a justice system that needs more than a nudge to react. We were also introduced to a sort of sidekick to Hathiram – the comely, young, IPS-aspirant Ansari. And there were a bunch of other characters, prominent among them being Hathiram’s ever-reassuring wife, Renu. The plotline, the characters, the background score, the nuanced acting of all the actors – everything came together to weave a cinematic tapestry that will remain unmissable even a hundred years from now. True to its name, the Paatal Lok Season 1 gave us a glimpse of the seedy underbelly of city life teeming with shady and downright fiendish figures, epitomizing hell. ?

While Season 1 explores the culdesacs of North India, Paatal Lok Season 2 takes things a notch higher by focusing on an oft-neglected part of India – Nagaland. The setting, the premise, the politics – everything is bigger and more intense. Hathiram and Ansari – now an ACP – take us on an edge-of-your-seat journey through the misty landscape of Nagaland, trying to solve a murder mystery that will decide the socio-economic fate of the region. (No spoilers here!)

India’s Favorite Sleuth

Showrunner Sudip Sharma together with actor Jaideep Ahlawat has gifted viewers one of the most memorable characters to ever grace the silver screen. I have been following Ahlawat’s trajectory since his blink-and-miss role in Rockstar and he has never once disappointed, even in a rank bad movie like Commando (2017). Hathiram Chaudhary is clearly a labor of love for Ahlawat because how else can an actor play such a nuanced role? An unassuming man through and through, Hathiram shines brilliantly not because of character quirks and sporadic outbursts of deductive skills. He isn’t a rebel either. Hathiram shines because of his unwavering commitment to his honest heart which sets him on a collision course with the powers that be time and time again. And he has a gift: the power to find the missing pieces and present the whole picture.

Paatal Lok Season 2 Has A Glittering Cast

Jaideep Ahlawat plays Hathiram in Season 2 with the same intensity on display in Season 1 – gravely disillusioned but indefatigable in his quest for justice. Ishwak Singh as ACP Ansari complements Ahlawat, never letting the latter steal attention whenever they share the screen. He is the polar opposite of the square-framed, hammer-in-hand Hathiram – calm, composed, unrelenting.

I can’t have enough of Gul Panag’s acting! The biker thespian is brilliant as ever in her portrayal of Renu Chaudhary, Hathiram’s unassuming but sensitive wife – a warrior in her own rights battling inflation and preventing her man from falling off the ledge. Tilottama Shome is scintillating in her portrayal of SP Meghna Barua – a brave custodian of the law who isn’t afraid to bend the rules or put herself in harm’s way to see peace prevail in Nagaland. I hope to see more of Prashant Tamang in mainstream Indian cinema because no one could have played Daniel better. The former Indian Idol winner vacillates between somber composure and feral outbursts like a veteran actor as he brings an intensely complicated character to life on screen. The ensemble cast of North East actors proves once more why they deserve more screen time on the big screen. Enough of leaving them on the back burners!

Actors from the North East deserve more screen time.

Humans in Hell

Paatal Lok Season 2 is more a study of human relationships in the backdrop of geopolitics than the exploration of the dark lanes of human behavior. Series director Avinash Arun Dhaware has succeeded in conjuring a make-believe world rooted firmly in reality. There’s not one moment when the script goes slack. The tension is palpable from Episodes 1 to 8, gelled with light-hearted moments that don’t feel out of place.

Watch Paatal Lok Season 2 even if you haven’t watched Season 1. Once you are done with it, take some time and binge-watch the first installment!