‘I Was Waiting Ki Sabka Time Aata Hai’

‘I
will
never
ever
forget

Pataal
Lok
2
because
I
left
for
the
shoot
the
night
I
got
married!

“My
name
means
‘praiseworthy,”
says

Bendang
Walling.

“And
your
performance
in

Pataal
Lok
2
was
just
that,”
I
reply
over
the
phone.

“Oh,
thank
you
very
much,”
he
says
with
a
warm
laugh
from
his
home
in
Dimapur,
Nagaland.

Walling,
an
alumnus
of
the
National
School
of
Drama,
plays
Sub-Inspector
Isaac
Longkumer
in
the
OTT
series
that
stands
out
for
the
ensemble
cast
drawn
from
Nagaland
and
other
parts
of
the
North
East.

“All
actors
want
to
be
on
screen
and
in
the
mainstream.
I
was
hoping
one
day

sabka
time

aata
hai,
and
waiting
for
mine.”

“After
the
auditions,
it
was
overwhelming
when
they
told
me
I
was
locked
for
Isaac.”

“It
was
wow!”
he
says
laughing.

As
Sub-Inspector
Isaac,
he
shares
most
of
his
screen
time
with
SP
Meghna
Barua

[Tillotama
Shome]
whose
debut
film

Monsoon
Wedding
was
part
of
his
NSD
curriculum.

“After
having
admired
her
craft
through
the
years,
it
was
surreal
to
work
with
her.”

“The
entire
cast
and
crew
of

Pataal
Lok
2
was
an
acting
master
class,”
he
says
in
a
conversation
sprinkled
with
generous
interludes
of
laughter
with



Rediff.com‘s

Archana
Masih.

How
did
you
get
this
role
in

Pataal
Lok
2?

The
audition
started
pre-Covid
and
has
been
a
two-and-a-half
year
casting
journey.
Casting
Director
Nikita
Grover
did
a
fabulous
job
and
is
such
a
lovely
person.

I
actually
auditioned
for
4-5
characters.
She
would
give
me
a
different
character
each
time
she
came
to
Nagaland.

I
was
an
experiment
and
I
enjoyed
the
process.

I
was
finally
selected
as
Isaac
Longkumer
and
shot
from
December
2022
to
February
2023.

Pataal
Lok
2
is
a
highpoint
in
your
career.
What
has
this
journey
been
for
you?

All
actors
want
to
be
on
screen
and
in
mainstream
platforms.
Every
actor
waits
for

that
role
and
I
was
waiting
for
my
time
—

ki
sabka
time

aata
hai.

For
2-3
years
I
had
stopped
giving
auditions
because
I
was
busy
with
my
own
theatre
work,
the
Hill
Tree
Theatre
in
Nagaland.

Art
for
us
theatre
folks
is
like
an
addiction.

Then
the

Pataal
Lok
2
audition
came.
I
did
not
have
much
expectation.
The
mantra
of
my
life
is
that
I
don’t
expect
a
lot.

And
then
you
landed
the
role?

It
was
overwhelming
when
they
told
me
that
I
was
locked
for
Isaac.

It
was
such
a
big
break
for
me.

I
was
told
that
my
shoot
would
be
for
25-28
days;
otherwise
it
is
mostly
for
4-5
days
only.

It
was
wow!
I
am
so
glad
for
all
that
has
happened.

I
will
never
ever
forget

Pataal
Lok
2
because
I
left
for
the
shoot
in
Darjeeling
the
night
I
got
married
on
January
19,
2023.

Pataal
Lok
2
is
special
in
so
many
ways.

What
was
the
first
scene
you
did?

When
Tillotama
ma’am
and
me
receive
Hathiram
Chaudhury
and
ACP
Imran
Ansari
at
the
airport.

Since
most
of
your
screen
time
is
with
Tillotama
Shome,
what
was
the
experience
of
working
with
her?

Ah,
it
is
still
very
surreal
because
when
I
joined
NSD
in
2009
I
saw

Monsoon
Wedding
and
I
thought
what
a
crafted
actor
she
is!

And
after
so
many
years
of
admiration,
I
got
a
chance
to
act
with
her.
It
was
such
a
beautiful
feeling
and
at
the
same
time
I
have
learnt
a
lot
by
observing,
listening
—
before,
after
and
in
between
the
shoot
from
her.

She
was
calm,
focused
and
clear.
She
became
a
different
person
in
front
of
the
camera
and
got
the
Nagamese
accent
so
right.

Once
I
even
started
practicing
like
that

(laughs).

I
was
star
struck.

The
whole
set
and
the
actors
was
an
acting
master
class.
I
was
learning
all
along
from
them.

What
were
some
of
those
learnings?

I
believe
that
you
have
to
be
a
beautiful
human
being
to
be
a
good
actor
—
accepting
of
the
environment
and
other
actors.

Jaideep
sir
is
something
different.
He
was
so
warm.
He
used
to
be
exuberant,
full
of
joy
and
be
completely
different
when
shooting
began
and
I
would
wonder
‘Yeh
kya
ho
raha
hai?‘

I
was
so
fortunate
to
be
with
them,
see
them
and
work
with
them.

I
have
always
admired
Irfaan
Khan
sir
and
saw
his
craft
in
Jaideep
sir.
In
India
there
are
few
actors
one
can
really
learn
from.

They
do
so
much
internal
work.

Ishwak
Singh
is
very
cool
and
friendly.
I
just
had
2-3
scenes
with
him,
but
we
used
to
talk
a
lot.
They
are
such
big
stars
and
all
of
a
sudden
they
were
in
a
Naga
village,
they
spoke
a
lot
with
us.

What
recognition
has

Pataal
Lok
2
brought
you?

It
is
such
a
big
platform.
It
is
still
fresh
and
recent
so
I
don’t
know
what
lies
ahead.
I
am
enjoying
the
laurels
at
present.

When
I
saw

Pataal
Lok
I
said,
‘wow
what
a
beautiful
way
of
story
telling’
and
then
to
be
a
part
of
it
—
wow!

In
two
months
or
so
maybe
I
will
come
to
know
what
changes
it
will
bring
for
me.

There
are
lots
of
people
from
outside
the
North
East
who
are
sending
DMs
saying
they
really
like
my
character.
People
seem
to
have
really
liked
Issac
Longkumer.
I
never
thought
it
would
be
so.

What
was
it
being
directed
by
Avinash
Dhaware
in
his
second
series?

I
don’t
know
how
people
who
know
so
many
things
in
the
world
remain
so
humble?

Avinash
sir
is
very
sweet
and
knows
how
to
handle
his
crew.
He
gives
his
instructions
in
2-3
lines
and
walks
away.
If
we
deliver
according
to
his
expectations,
he
gives
a
very
sweet
smile.

He
does
not
talk
much.

And
writer
Sudip
Sharma
who
grew
up
in
Assam?

Being
a
big
fan
of

Pataal
Lok
and

Kohrra,
it
was
amazing
to
work
with
him.
He
understands
us
and
the
North
East
because
he
has
been
a
part
of
it.

He
is
friendly,
welcoming,
adjusting,
and
like
us
Naga
people
he
is
angry
when
angry,
and
laughs
heartily
when
happy.
He
is
simply
brilliant.

Whenever
I
went
to
Sudip
sir,
Assistant
Director
Faisal
Rahman,
Creative
Supervisor
Paulami
Bhattacharya
and
asked
if
they
got
what
they
wanted,
they
said
did
you
feel
it
or
not?
I
said
yes
and
that
was
the
end
of
the
discussion
most
of
the
time.

When
did
you
see
the
whole
series?

At
home
with
my
wife
after
it
was
released.
The
cast
and
crew
are
planning
to
meet
and
maybe
we
will
watch
it
again
together.

Nikita
and
Paulami
are
planning
to
come
to
Nagaland
to
meet
all
of
us.