Paatal Lok Season 2 review: Jaideep Ahlawat’s spunky Hathiram Chaudhary elevates this nuanced exploration of Naga history

Paatal Lok Season 2 review: Jaideep Ahlawat’s spunky Hathiram Chaudhary elevates this nuanced exploration of Naga history

Paatal Lok Season 2 Review: “Sir tindey 20 rupay kilo mil rahe hain…aapke liye le aau?”’, asks a police officer while investigating a suspect in Delhi’s Azadpur fruit market. Hathiram Chaudhary (played by the versatile Jaideep Ahlawat) visits Pappi Da Parlour shortly after. Pappi madam is unpleased because Chaudhary didn’t get a lady cop with him.

From the slums of Jamna Paar to the posh clubs of South Delhi and Punjabi societies of West Delhi, where aunties swear by their Canadian visa, Avinash Arun’s Paatal Lok season 2 portrays the capital city like the Wild, Wild West that it is. This time, however, the show moves away from Delhi to Dimapur.

Paatal Lok Season 2: Plot

Ahlawat, as Hathiram Chaudhary, is like every Delhi police officer, ever. After the events of last season, he is now Imran Ansari’s (Ishwak Singh) subordinate. While Ansari investigates ‘high profile’ cases, Chaudhary is tasked with finding the missing husband of Gita Paswan, a woman from Jamna Paar slums. Two parallel arcs play out, both of which are centered around the murder of Mr Jonathan Thom, a towering figure in Naga community, just before Nagaland Business Summit.

Is the murder politically motivated? This critic was invested a lot more in the tongue-in-cheek benter between Hathiram and his brother-in-law than the actual murder mystery which unfolds rather slowly. Dialogue by Sudip Sharma, Sagar Haveli, Hardik Mehta and Gunjit Chopra perfectly brings out the Delhi smugness that is typical of the city. The witty comebacks are a dime a dozen.

Paatal Lok Season 2: Performances

Dhruv Mallik, the rich nightclub owner from Saket comes under police’s radar when Rose Lizu, a hostess at his club, is caught up as a suspect in Thom’s murder. is there more to Thom/Rose’s dynamic than meets the eye? Back home, Renu (Gul Panag) wants to open a tuition center now that Siddharth has gone to the hostel. Gita’s son, now an orphan, gets a foster care home as Renu (reluctantly so) agrees to raise him.

This season, Hathiram’s relationship with Ansari hits a rough patch. As the latter is given more limelight within his department, Hathiram harbours bitterness towards him. In a shocking turn of events, we learn about Rose’s relationship with Thom. 'Aren't we all paying for the sins of our men?’, asks Grace, Thom’s wife, in a rather apologetic tone as she speaks to Rose's mother.

Paatal Lok Season 2: Writing And Direction

Guddu, Gita’s son, arguably has the saddest arc in the film. Having lost both his parents, the child shows symptoms of C-PTSD, even pees himself while going to sleep. The trauma of witnessing violence, losing a parent (and then childhood itself), is gut-wrenching. The commentary on how those from Paatal Lok suffer as a consequence of the bigwigs from ‘Swarg’ (Dhruv Mallik) is portrayed to stirring effect. The commentary on male privilege and rich-poor divide is as biting as ever.

In episode 3, the action shifts to Dimapur in Nagaland. We are introduced to SP Meghna Barua (Tilotima Shome) and inspector Isaac as Hathiram and Ansari attend Thom’s funeral. We are familiarized with various aspects of Naga culture and history — the call for Revolution and mercenaries fighting for liberation.

Paatal Lok Season 2: What Works, What Doesn’t

The groundwork for the second season of Paatal Lok is laid rather slowly. It takes a while for various elements of Naga history to sink in. The neo-noir crime thriller has a layered narrative where every major story arc offers social and cultural commentary. Still, the show takes rather long to show all of its cards.

Truth be told, Ahlawat’s Hathiram Chaudhary practically carries the second season of Paatal Lok. Granted, the show makes larger points on corruption, a failing system and class oppression, the police procedural bits are somewhat underwhelming, even predictable at times. However, the show does justice to its portrayal of Naga history and offers a nuanced view of reservations for locals. The final scene from episode 8, where Hathiram bids adieu to Guddu, Gita’s son, will make you well up.

Paatal Lok season 2 continues to be one of the better crime dramas to have come out in the recent past. The long, dramatically inert pauses slow down the momentum, even if momentarily. A faster pace and more engaging arc could have done wonders for the show. Even then, this critic wouldn’t mind watching a spin-off featuring Hathiram Chaudhary, one where his signature Haryanvi humour and roasting skills take the center stage.

Star rating: 3.5 / 5 stars

Paatal Lok season 2 is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.