When we first met Hathiram Chaudhary in the summer of 2020, humanity was in the grip of a severe pandemic, and ‘paatal lok’ — to now put it lightly — didn’t seem to be too much of an alien word (or world) at that moment. The show provided a much-needed distraction, and was a rare watch that gave us food for thought, metamorphosing from a police procedural to a tightly-knit thriller that compelled us to examine the fault lines of caste, social prejudice, marginalisation, vote-bank politics, fake news and religious divide.
Five years later, Hathiram — played like second skin by the irrepressible Jaideep Ahlawat — is back. In Season 2, the stakes may be higher, the socio-political environment more tense and the cocktail of betrayal, deceit, double-cross and revenge more tricky and tenuous... but Hathiram has remained the same. A man still world-weary and honest to a fault. But if angst defined Chaudhary in the first season — a sincere if bullheaded cop thirsting for one challenging case in his predominantly unremarkable career — it is acceptance that forms his core this time. Hathiram hasn’t made any significant strides in his career, but as a man he seems content. ‘Seems’ is the operative word here.
Till another case knocks on his door. In Season 2, creator-writer-executive producer Sudip Sharma fashions yet another nail-biting drama in which different players and diverse worlds collude and collide. Sharma — known for writing hard-hitting dramas like NH10 and Udta Punjab, as well as the recent socio-political winner Kohrra — makes his scene and setting extremely potent this time around. It is the insurgency-hit North-eastern India, specifically Nagaland, that forms the hotbed of a quagmire-ish mystery, with Sharma and director Avinash Arun Dhaware — who also directed a part of the first season — delivering a nuanced and well-researched examination of the history of Nagaland, its politics and its people. In that sense, Paatal Lok S2 goes where few others have done before — it mainstreams the North-east, a region which mostly remains not only on the periphery of our cinema but on the sidelines of the nation’s politics and policies as well.
It all starts with a high-profile murder, one which threatens to derail the high-stakes Naga Business Summit being held in the capital. The summit is of huge import because of the developmental hope it brings to a state overridden with rebellion and inquietude.
The man in charge of the murder investigation is Imran Ansari (Ishwak Singh), promoted to the level of assistant commissioner of police, which means that Hathiram now has to salute his one-time subordinate and address him as ‘sir’. The situation gives rise to a certain awkwardness between the two, which, quite often, also brings on the laughs, albeit subtle, and is worked deftly into the plot. Their destinies collide once more when Hathiram’s work on a missing persons case intersects with the murder investigation that Ansari has been tasked with. That opens up a can of worms that sees the two join forces and head to Nagaland where they quickly find themselves being sucked into situations that threaten their own lives.
Much like the first season, authenticity is key in Paatal Lok 2. Nagamese is spoken as much as Hindi here, if not more. With largely efficient subtitles, that should not be a problem for anyone. I found myself needing none of it since Nagamese has its roots in Assamese, a language I am fluent in, given my growing-up years in the North-east. The region is depicted for what it is, and it is in this no-holds-barred yet intricate examination of the politics — both past and present — social structures and cultural constructs of Nagaland that Paatal Lok 2’s real win lies. Even as the series casts a sympathetic eye on the plight of a long-suffering region, it pulls no punches in showing the moles and warts of the attitude of the indigenous people of that part of the country, especially its othering of what it calls ‘outsiders’.
Sudip Sharma, working in tandem with Dhaware — whose pitch-perfect work with the camera takes us deep into the nooks and alleys of the ‘hills that have eyes’ — gives us what he knows best: a slow-burn thriller with a tinge of social commentary, tempering it with some unexpected humour. As Hathiram and Ansari work in unraveling the case before time runs out, the series simultaneously unwraps the layers that throws up twists at every turn. But each one of them, given the sprawling yet largely watertight screenplay, is well earned.
The body count rises and so do the number of players flitting in and out and while that, and the numerous sub strands can prove to be confusing, Paatal Lok in Season 2, much like its first, ensures that the viewer remains invested all through its eight episodes. Faces are unmasked, loyalties come into play and the moral compass of the players keeps shifting. You, the viewer, stay riveted.
Even as the plot gets dense and the suspense thickens, resulting in a host of visceral action scenes that are all the more effective because they look non-choreographed, it is the emotional moments that stay on with you. That includes almost every scene involving Hathiram and Ansari. Their professional dynamic may have changed, but the warmth between them remains. That is beautifully illustrated by that one scene in the car when Hathiram chances upon a key aspect of Ansari’s life. The exchange between them is heartwarming. So also is the blow hot-blow cold equation between Hathiram and his wife Renu (Gul Panag, effectively restrained).
The death of an important player in the middle of the series is sure to bring a lump to the throat of every viewer and gives a new direction to the narrative, making the mission deeply personal for Hathiram. Aiding him is local cop Meghna Barua, played with quiet but firm sass by Tillotama Shome, who aces both the accent and attitude of the character.
What also stands out is the inspired casting this season — from filmmakers Nagesh Kukunoor and Jahnu Barua to Indian Idol 3 winner and former Calcutta police constable Prashant Tamang.
In the end, it is Jaideep Ahlawat who remains the head and heart of Paatal Lok. Hathiram may not be the fastest on his feet, but his brain works with amazing alacrity, picking up things others don’t. “Naukri kar lo ya duty kar lo,” he reminds a colleague, succinctly encapsulating the essence of his character. Paatal Lok — with Hathiram as its “permanent resident” — is the cop universe we truly need and deserve.