Will Hathiram Be Killed In Paatal Lok?

‘I
insisted
only
Jaideep
could
play
Inspector
Haathiram
Chaudhary.’
‘Yes,
Jaideep
is
a
really
good
actor
but
this
was
not
just
about
the
performance.’
‘Even
that
tired
walk
of
him
reflects
the
mood
and
theme
of
the
show.’

Spoiler
Alert!

Sudip
Sharma,
who
has
written
hard-hitting
films
like

Udta
Punjab
and

Sonchiriya
and
Web
series

Paatal
Lok
and

Kohrra,
told
us
he’s
“never
written
with
the
market
in
mind“.

He
looks
back
at

Paatal
Lok,
and
reveals
that
Imran
Ansari,
played
by


Ishwak
Singh,
is
one
of
his
favourite
characters
in
the
show.

Then,
he
reveals
a
shocker
to



Rediff.com
Senior
Contributor

Roshmila
Bhattacharya,
“I
have
a
picture
with
him
on
his
last
day
on
the
set
with
a
bullet
mark
on
his
forehead
and
it
felt
quite
sad.”

Paatal
Lok

fans
are
heartbroken
by
Imran
Ansari’s
sudden
death
in
season
two.
Ishwak
Singh,
who
played
this
much-loved
character,
describes
it
as
‘ruthless
storytelling’.
Was
the
twist
in
the
plot
written
purely
for
its
shock
value?

No.
The
objective
was
not
to
create
shock
value
in
the
middle
of
the
season
but
to
raise
the
stakes,
both
physically
and
emotionally.

In
this
case,
two
cops,
ACP
Imran
Ansari
and
Inspector
Hathiram
Chaudhary,
go
to
an
unknown
place,
Nagaland,
to
investigate
a
murder.

One
of
them
ends
up
dead,
the
other
returns
to
Delhi
and
is
asked
not
to
pursue
the
case.
But
he
is
not
okay
with
Ansari
being
made
the
scapegoat
and
returns
to
Nagaland
alone.

This
raises
the
stakes,
and
stories
are
all
about
raising
the
stakes.

If
that
doesn’t
happen,
it
is
difficult
to
sustain
the
audience
interest
in
the
show.

But
I
admit
it
was
a
hard
decision
even
for
me
because
Ansari
was
one
of
my
favourites
and
working
with
Ishwak
has
been
a
source
of
joy.

I
have
a
picture
with
him
on
his
last
day
on
the
set
with
a
bullet
mark
on
his
forehead
and
it
felt
quite
sad.

But
you
have
got
to
do
what
you
have
to
for
the
story
to
move
forward.

Can
you
imagine

Paatal
Lok
without
Jaideep
Ahlawat’s
Inspector
Hathiram
Chaudhary?

No.
Jaideep
is
the
heart
and
soul
of
the
show.

We
had
never
worked
together
but
I
had
seen
and
admired
his
work.
When

Paatal
Lok
happened,
I
insisted
only
Jaideep
could
play
Inspector
Haathiram
Chaudhary.

Yes,
Jaideep
is
a
really
good
actor
but
this
was
not
just
about
the
performance.

Even
that
tired
walk
of
him
reflects
the
mood
and
theme
of
the
show.

Like
Ansari,
would
you
ever
knock
off
Hathiram
in
the
middle
of
a
season?

(Laughs)
You
never
know.

Let’s
flashback
to
the
2016
crime
drama


Udta
Punjab
which
you
wrote
with
Director
Abhishek
Chaubey.
The
censor
board
demanded
89
cuts
and
sought
a
stay
on
its
release
on
the
grounds
that
it
was
too
vulgar.

Yes,
it
was
quite
a
nightmare.

There
was
a
lot
of
noise
and
it
became
too
political.

All
that
I
could
do
was
argue
logically
but
there
was
no
logic
in
what
was
happening
at
that
point
of
time.

The
film
eventually
released
with
a
single
cut
after
the
Bombay
high
court
struck
down
the
stay.
Did
the
prolonged
legal
battle
affect
you?

It
was
quite
difficult.
There
was
a
bit
of
a
mental
health
scare
as
I
slipped
into
depression.

That
is
one
of
the
reasons
I’ve
stayed
away
from
social
media
after
2016.

The
film’s
subsequent
release
and
the
reception
it
received
took
away
some
of
the
negativity
and
today,
I
can
look
back
on

Udta
Punjab
as
a
learning
phase.

Also,
with
a
certain
satisfaction
because
despite
everything
that
happened,
the
story
managed
to
reach
those
it
was
meant
for.

Did
you
get
any
reactions
from
any
real
dacoits
to
the
2019
Chambal
action
drama

Sonchiriya,
another
creative
collaboration
with
Abhishek
Chaubey?

(Laughs)

Sonchiriya
is
one
of
my
favourite
films.
It’s
the
best
screenplay
I
have
written
despite
the
fact
that
not
too
many
people
saw
it.

Six
years
have
passed,
I
can’t
remember
exact
reactions,
but
the
cops
and
reporters
we
had
got
in
touch
with
during
our
research
were
very
appreciative
of
the
film,
praising
the
authentic
setting
and
dialogue.

You
have
done
a
lot
of
path-breaking
work.
What’s
been
the
biggest
challenge
for
you
as
a
writer?

I
think
finding
your
voice
and
preserving
it
is
a
constant
challenge
in
this
town.

If
you
are
not
vigilant,
it’s
very
easy
to
slip
away
amidst
all
the
noise
and
lights,
the
money
and
the
conversations.

You
need
to
keep
coming
back
to
what
it
is
that
you
came
here
for,
the
stories
you
want
to
tell.

That
is
the
biggest
challenge,
one
which
you
have
to
deal
with
on
a
daily
basis,
and
in
a
more
spiritual
way,
year
after
year,
to
keep
yourself
constantly
motivated.

After
a
successful
season
of

Paatal
Lok
or

Kohrra,
how
do
you
deal
with
the
pressure
of
expectations?

The
biggest
pressure
comes
from
deep
within
me
as
I’m
very
hard
on
myself.

When
I
look
back
on
a
film
or
a
series
five
years
from
now,
I
should
be
able
to
tell
myself
honestly,
with
confidence,
that
we
made
it
in
the
best
possible
manner,
with
the
resources
we
had
at
that
point
of
time.

That
is
the
goal
I
keep
chasing.

Looking
back,
is
there
a
project
you
feel
you
could
have
done
differently
had
it
come
to
you
today?

Oh
yes,
because
the
person
who
made
it
is
not
the
same.

When
I
wrote

NH10
13-14
years
ago,
I
was
a
different
person,
possibly
angrier
and
hungrier.

But
with
every
work,
you
are
evolving,
not
just
as
an
artist,
but
also
as
a
human
being.

Dealing
with
life
changes
you,
so
whenever
I
revisit
any
work
I
have
done
in
the
past,
I’m
like,
‘Oh,
did
I
really
write
this?’

But
while
I
may
not
feel
the
same
way
today,
I
have
to
acknowledge
and
respect
the
fact
that
this
is
who
I
was
when
I
was
writing
this,
see
my
evolution
over
10-20
years.

Is
there
a
story
you
have
been
carrying
with
you
for
a
long
time
that
you
want
to
tell,
but
haven’t
got
an
opportunity
yet?

Yes.
There
are
stories
I
have
written
and
felt
fondly
about
but
I
don’t
look
back
at
them
with
frustration
or
nostalgia
because
they
did
not
get
made.

That
would
be
ungrateful
to
all
the
other
stories
I
have
been
able
to
tell
since.

You
win
some,
you
lose
some,
that’s
life.

What
would
be
your
advice
to
struggling
writers?

Focus
on
the
craft.

We
don’t
talk
enough
about
the
craft
of
screenwriting
in
India.

A
lot
of
time
we
get
lost
in
the
noise
of
who
are
the
stars,
how
much
is
the
budget,
what’s
working
and
if
it
should
be
on
OTT
or
a
film.

It’s
important
to
keep
such
noise
out
of
your
life
and
focus
on
getting
better
as
a
writer
every
day.

To
look
back
every
year
and
reflect
on
whether
you
are
able
to
tell
stories
close
to
your
heart
now.

Can
a
writer
assert
his
voice
with
the
corporates
taking
the
major
creative
decisions?

I
think
so
and
I
can
say
from
personal
experience
that
I
was
allowed
a
lot
of
freedom
with
stories
across
platforms.

A
lot
of
the
time
what
we
call
‘meddling’
or
‘creative
interference’
is
people
trying
to
tell
you
that
they
are
not
happy
with
the
quality
of
your
work,
give
you
suggestions
on
what
they
think
can
make
it
better.

But
if
they
are
convinced
you
know
what
you
are
doing,
doing
it
with
sincerity,
expertise
and
a
sense
of
responsibility,
they
let
you
be.

You
can
tell
your
stories
the
way
you
want.