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Jaideep Ahlawat recalls eyes welling up during Ansari’s coming out scene in Paatal Lok 2, shot in one take.
Jaideep Ahlawat and Ishwak Singh in Paatal Lok 2.
In Paatal Lok Season 2, one of the most emotionally resonant moments arrives not with action, but with silence. The scene between Hathi Ram Chaudhary (Jaideep Ahlawat) and Ansari (Ishwak Singh), his junior colleague turned IPS officer, stands out for its raw simplicity and emotional depth. As Ansari quietly comes out as gay to Hathi Ram, what follows is not drama or disbelief, but a powerful pause filled with vulnerability and aching humanity.
For two seasons, their bond has been quietly built not through declarations, but through loyalty, shared struggle, and the kind of quiet companionship men like them often share. So when Ansari reveals this deeply personal truth, Hathi Ram’s expression reflects not shock or judgment, but hurt. Not because of who Ansari is, but because he didn’t feel safe enough to share it sooner.
Jaideep Ahlawat, in an interview with GQ India, reflected on filming that pivotal moment. “It was the most powerful moment in the script,” he said. “I remember my eyes welling up.” The scene was shot in a single take—any more, he felt, would have stripped it of its raw honesty. “It worked because it was so sparse.”
Ahlawat recalled conversations with creator Sudip Sharma before filming the scene. There were questions: Should Hathi Ram’s reaction be more ambiguous? Should he be portrayed as less progressive? “Would people wonder,” he remembers asking, “how come this rough, Haryanvi cop is, what they now call, woke?”
But Sharma had a clear vision. “Hathi Ram may look like a regressive small-town man,” Ahlawat said, “but he’s always been progressive. If you watch closely, you’ll see glimpses of that all through the show.”
Still, Hathi Ram remains a deeply human character, flawed and real. In Season 2, there’s a scene where he slaps his wife. Addressing that, Ahlawat said, “Sure… but I’d say that’s probably the only time he’s ever done it. If he was someone who hit her regularly, she wouldn’t have dared to slap him right back. She ends it right there.”
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