Paatal Lok creator Sudip Sharma says team was wary of not being ‘cultural invaders’ while filming in Nagaland | Web Series
The second season of Amazon Prime Video’s Paatal Lok is releasing on the platform soon. The much awaited show brings back Jaideep Ahlawat’s Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary as he attempts to navigate a new case in an unfamiliar setting. Prior to the release of the second season, the show’s creator, Sudip Sharma, spoke with HT about what went into the making of Paatal Lok season 2. (Also read: Paatal Lok season 2 trailer: Inspector Hathiram, ‘Sir’ Imran Ansari enter big leagues; Jaideep Ahlawat is so watchable)
Sudip Sharma on Paatal Lok season 2
Paatal Lok was a runaway success when season 1 was released in 2022. But for Sudip Sharma, the creation of season 2 did not emerge from the positives but the negatives of the first one. “When I look back at the first season, what I see now is a set of problems. Rather than things that worked, the focus is on things that did not work, and the reasons behind that. The idea was not to revel in the success, but to focus on how to make our work better. In the first season, you have excuses. But you don’t have that in a second season,” he says.
In season 1, the protagonist, Hathiram Chaudhary, had to navigate the unfamiliar setting of the upper-class world of Delhi. In season 2, he is thrust in an even more alien setting – Nagaland. Talking about the change of scenery, Sudip says, “It was a very conscious choice because we wanted to up the ante. The audience sees the character go through a journey and overcome the obstacles that come his way. So, in the second season, if you give him similar adventures, the audience expects him to easily go through them. Hence, the idea is to really trouble him and to make his life hell.”
On filming and setting season 2 in Nagaland
Setting a story in Nagaland meant the producers, the director and the writers had to carefully navigate the complex socio-political environment of the state, including the insurgency. “It was in the back of our heads that we did not want to do a disservice to this very beautiful land and culture. We should not be seen as or end up as invaders, cultural invaders. We didn’t want to go there and appropriate or condescend. The guiding force behind this was empathy,” says Sudip.
The filmmaker adds that it was slightly easier for him as he grew up in the North-East. He explains, “It was a little easier for me because I grew up in Assam so there was this affinity to North-East and limited understanding of the region. Of course, Nagaland is very different.”
Sudip adds that season 2 of Paatal Lok does not use Nagaland or the Naga people as props. He says, “It is as much a Nagaland story as a Hathiram story, and I hope the audience see when they watch season 2 that the characters we introduce are not props for Hathiram to use and discard in his journey. They are standalone, living, breathing characters that the audience will be able to relate to and understand. It is also their journey and story as much as Hathiram’s.”
On Hathiram Chaudhary
In the trailer of season 2, there is a line from Hathiram about choosing between naukri (job) and duty, which Sudip calls one of his favourites. Expanding on that, he says, “In Hathiram, I see a reflection of my father in some ways. Not in the obvious ways, because my father is not a violent man. I am talking about that value system, particularly the approach towards work and duty, and that attitude of no matter how much s**t comes at you, you have to be chiselling at it. That approach is something I try and imbibe in my work.”
Paatal Lok season 2 stars Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Tillotama Shome, and Gul Panag. Created by Sudip Sharma and directed by Avinsh Arun Dhaware, it will stream on Amazon Prime Video from January 17.
