BREAKING THE MOULD

Typecast in negative roles for long, Jaideep Ahlawat is eager to experiment

- PRIYANKA BHADANI

He is a man at odds with life, vulnerable and unsure about everything. Professionally and personally, Hathiram Chaudhary is down and almost out. No one expects anything from the Delhi police inspector. But then there is an attempt to murder a high-profile, prime-time journalist. Four suspects are nabbed. And surprisingly, Chaudhary is asked to investigate the case, gradually revealing the twisted tales from media and bureaucracy.

Jaideep Ahlawat, who plays Chaudhary in Amazon Prime Video’s new series Paatal Lok, says, “Hathiram is so vulnerable that you will start loving him, sympathise with him. He is fighting really hard to be sincere in what he does. He is fighting for the space he deserves.” It was interesting to study the perseverance of Hathiram, his need and determination to always keep looking for the truth. The role, he says, often reminded him of his father, a teacher (now retired) in Kharkhara village in Haryana and also a common man struggling with his day-to-day life. “I have picked up his traits, the way he walks, his body language,” says Ahlawat.

Paatal Lok, reportedly based on Tarun J. Tejpal’s The Story of My Assassins (not credited in the show), takes the audience to the dark alleys of the political and the powerful, exploring the depths of human and societal immorality.