‘No
woman
is
stronger
than
one
who
acknowledges
her
vulnerabilities.’
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Tillotama
Shome/Instagram
The
incredibly
talented
Tillotama
Shome
takes
up
an
unusual
role
of
a
police
officer
from
the
North
East
in
the
Web
series,
Paatal
Lok
2.
“In
this
project,
I
realised
I
lack
a
sense
of
pride
about
where
I
live.
In
Nagaland,
the
people
I
met,
especially
the
young,
were
so
political
and
bursting
with
a
sense
of
pride
about
their
land,”
Tillotama
tells
Subhash
K
Jha.
What
made
you
decide
to
be
part
of
Paatal
Lok‘s
Season
2?
It
was
fairly
easy
to
make
a
decision
to
play
the
cop
Meghna
Barua
a
few
minutes
into
reading
the
script
by
Sudip
Sharma.
The
script
was
so
dense
and
there
were
so
many
threads.
It
was
exhilarating
to
see
how
each
thread
got
woven
into
the
other.
Besides,
I
am
a
fan
of
Season
1
and
it
was
a
dream
to
be
asked
to
join
a
team
that
I
had
heard
only
good
things
about.
From
Avinash
Arun,
the
director
and
cinematographer,
to
Naren
Chandavarkar
and
Benedict
Taylor’s
music,
this
is
a
dream
team.
What
makes
Paatal
Lok
stand
apart
from
the
other
series
on
OTT?
I
can
only
share
something
about
the
process
of
Paatal
Lok
that
set
it
apart
for
me.
The
writer
Sudip
Sharma
had
got
Anungla,
a
cultural
researcher
on
board.
He
had
given
her
the
power
to
say
no
to
anything
in
the
frame
that
is
an
incorrect
or
insensitive
portrayal
of
Nagaland,
to
avoid
any
cultural
appropriation.
So
Anungla
not
only
taught
me
Nagamese
but
was
present
every
day,
right
at
the
monitor,
watching
everything.
I
was
amazed
by
this.
Process
is
key.
Tillotama
Shome
in
Paatal
Lok
2.
Do
you
enjoy
the
challenge
of
discovering
new
versions
of
yourself
each
time
you
accept
a
project?
Yes,
I
do,
and
the
unfamiliar
bits
of
me,
surprise
me
each
time
—
some
in
a
nice
way
and
some
in
a
not
so
nice
way.
In
this
project,
I
realised
I
lack
a
sense
of
pride
about
where
I
live.
In
Nagaland,
the
people
I
met,
especially
the
young,
were
so
political
and
bursting
with
a
sense
of
pride
about
their
land.
Do
you
prefer
playing
strong
women
to
the
vulnerable
ones?
I
ask
as
you
have
played
both.
No
woman
is
stronger
than
one
who
acknowledges
her
vulnerabilities.
The
absence
of
vulnerability
in
the
‘strong’
is
the
kind
of
myth-building
that
will
only
lead
to
an
explosion.
All
of
us
are
a
mixture
of
strength
and
weakness,
a
complex
character
exploits
both
to
eviscerate
the
human
condition.
It
is
interesting
how
the
women
in
Paatal
Lok
rarely
cry,
there
is
a
shift
in
their
portrayal
that
I
loved
interpreting
as
an
actor.
Tillotama
Shome
and
Jaideep
Ahlawat
on
the
sets
of
Paatal
Lok
2.
Photograph:
Kind
courtesy
Tillotama
Shome/Instagram
The
skilled
Jaideep
Ahlawat
is
your
co-star.
Is
that
an
impetus
for
a
more
dedicated
performance?
It
is
an
invitation
to
have
a
great
time
on
set
when
you
have
an
actor
of
Jaideep’s
calibre.
The
dedication
comes
from
one’s
own
love
and
hunger
for
the
craft
and
to
repay
the
makers’
trust
in
you.
Looking
back,
what
were
the
landmark
happenings
in
your
life
in
the
past
year?
I
turned
producer
for
a
very
special
film
called
Shadowbox/Baksho
Bondi,
directed
by
Tanushree
Das
and
Saumyananda
Sahi.
It
is
my
first
as
an
actor-producer
and
has
been
the
biggest
learning
curve
of
this
year.
A
very,
very,
humbling
process.
In
fact,
I
went
to
the
shooting
of
this
film
right
after
Paatal
Lok.
The
joy
and
love
I
got
on
Paatal
Lok
really
set
me
up
for
this
precious
film.
