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As Jaideep Ahlawat promotes the second season of his groundbreaking 2020 web-series Paatal Lok, he reflects on the highs and lows of his journey in the entertainment industry. He recently shared that while he is happy with the kind of work he is being offered now, but after his breakthrough performance in Alia Bhatt’s Raazi (2018) he didn’t have work and he would wonder, “what went wrong?”
In a recent roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter India, Jaideep recalled a pivotal moment in his career when he faced a dry spell after his critically acclaimed performance in Raazi. “A time comes when you need to do something and you get a good role. It gets out with people liking it but you still don’t have work. After Raazi, I didn’t have work. And you are like, ‘what went wrong?’ Everybody is praising it. Everybody is talking about the role.”
He noted that the scripts he received after Raazi were repetitive and typecast him in similar roles. “The scripts that were coming my way were almost the same. Everybody wants me to play an IB (Intelligence Bureau) officer and RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) officer, but I didn’t want to do that. I had just done it.”
He faced similar challenges after Paatal Lok, with many scripts offering him cop roles. “Like after Paatal Lok, I got hundreds of scripts of cop. Heights were like (when people told me) ‘sir, it’s a mixture of Paatal Lok and Mirzapur (Another hit Amazon Prime Video show).’ (I was like) ‘What? Yeh kya hai? (What is this?)’ But then everybody wants that thing.”
Jaideep emphasised the importance of working on oneself and not being desperate for success. “The biggest learning (here) is working on yourself. Don’t be desperate about things. But think rightly. Sometimes you are in a bubble that ‘Oh! I am working so hard and doing everything…’ No, you are not! I don’t know if I am making any sense or not?!”
He also stressed the need for actors to be aware of their unique strengths and not get caught up in trying to fit into a particular mold. “There are groups of actors, they live in a certain society or a group or a gathering or a friend circle. And after sometime, they all think alike. If there are four-five people going to the gym, everybody will follow that. If four of them are doing theatre, everybody follows them. So, they don’t see themselves as a unique personality, most of the time. Everybody is scared, and everybody is trying to do that will make them famous. It becomes important for many to look like an actor in this city. I see so many boys who roam around in the city wearing gel in their hair all the time…”
Jaideep Ahlawat is set to reprise his iconic role Hathi Ram Chaudhary in Paatal Lok 2. The web-show will stream on Amazon Prime Video from January 17.
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