Jan 16: From being a self-proclaimed fan of Paatal Lok, to now playing one of the key characters in season 2, actor Tillotama Shome says she never thought she would be a part of the critically-acclaimed series.
The show explores the power and crime nexus through the eyes of a weathered Delhi cop.
It digs deep into the narrative of its female characters, without falling into cliches, in the second part.
Shome, one of the prominent actors known for her interesting choices across spectrums, be it cinema or OTT shows like Qissa, Sir, Lust Stories 2, Delhi Crime 2 , and The Night Manager, said she has always been a fan of the Sudip Sharma-created series.
Tillotama told PTI, “I’m a huge fan of the show. The grammar of the show was pathbreaking because of the storytelling, and the kind of male characters portrayed on screen. I never thought in my wildest imagination that there would be a season two and I would be part of it.”
The actor said she was such a fan of the show that when she got the script, she spent hours reading it.
She said, “I remember what I felt, and then we shot for season two, and I met the incredible team. It was amazing.”
She also added, that after completing the show, she asked Sudip Sharma to send her the script of season one, as she was curious and wanted to read it.
Paatal Lok became an instant hit when it premiered in May 2020, on Prime Video, in the middle of the pandemic.
Jaideep Ahlawat played the central character of Hathiram Chaudhary.
The second season brings back Chaudhary and Ishwak Singh’s Ansari as they deal with the murder of a prominent political leader from Nagaland.
Shome plays the role of a cop named Meghna Barua, who becomes a part of the investigation.
“She (Barua) is a woman in a man’s world. She knows the ins and outs of it, and she is frustrated by it, but she knows what’s the most efficient way to deal with it so the work can get done. I like that thorough line that Meghna has, like knowing that this is how the men will react, and that’s in the writing.
Tillotama added, “The triumph, for me, was the portrayal of women in season two. There’s not just Meghna Barua’s character, there are other characters. You don’t get to see women like this without it falling into deep cliché, and it was great.”
Ahlawat’s portrayal of Chaudhary has always been a favourite, Tillotama mentioned that none of her friends had met the actor, but they all celebrated his success because his love for acting came through in the performance.
She said, “In Hathiram’s imperfections, you see your own. In his failures, you see your own. He keeps going, he keeps walking forward no matter how tired or broken he is, and you see yourself in that. You don’t need to be a cop or from that world to feel that.”
Shome said there are some successes that represent a collective victory for actors like her, and that’s how she views Ahlawat’s popularity after Paatal Lok season one.
Tillotama said, “For all of us as actors within the community, watching Jaideep was a sense of validation for us. His success gives you great joy and everyone shares it. We all have our insecurities but when a community comes together, when a performance is that rare that it makes you love what you do, his victory becomes a shared one for the rest of us.”
Shome, like Ahalwat, has had an interesting career filled with acclaimed movies and shows, and she credits it all to the good work that she has been offered in her career.
Reacting to the same, she said, “It sounds like I’ve made those choices, but they came to me. When you get a script, and you see writing of a certain calibre, and you see a woman’s body framed in a certain way and it makes you feel that it is familiar yet unfamiliar, you know you want to be part of it. That’s the easiest decision to make. The difficult part is in between.”
“Your choices are made a lot in the period when you are waiting, like what you do when you don’t have work. That for me is the real choice because if I don’t like the script, I won’t do it. But if I don’t like a script and I do it, it’s a choice I made, I have to live with the choice,” Tillotama concluded.
Actors Nagesh Kukunoor, and Jahnu Barua are the new additions to the cast of Paatal Lok 2, which is set to premiere on Prime Video on January 17, 2025.
