THE TALENTED MR. ALHAWAT

JAIDEEP AHLAWAT WALKS THE FINE LINE BETWEEN PLAYING THE SUPPORTING ACTOR AND EXUDING MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY IN PAATAL LOK, AN ACTION HERO AND MORE. TANZIM PARDIWALLA INTERVIEWS THE MAVERICK ACTOR

- TANZIM PARDIWALLA

In an episode of Paatal Lok, a show that blew up weeks into the lockdown, Jaideep Ahlawat's Hathiram says, "Main sambhal lunga". It came as an odd reassurance amidst a line-up of shows and films that would be lapped up by a pandemic-fatigued audience on the small screen. Since then, the actor who might have gone unnoticed in big Bollywood productions like Rockstar, Raazi or Gangs of Wasseypur has kept his promise, slowly taking over the streaming space. With his latest outing in An Action Hero, he set his gaze on the big screen and the past year's slate of films was richer for it. After almost a decade in the entertainment industry, Ahlwat is convinced that he has only just begun. He has after all spent a better half of the decade getting typecast as the local goon. But in An Action Hero - a film that sees him in the spotlight as a parallel lead alongside Ayushmann Khurrana, he's making a strong case to stay in the spotlight. Luckily, he has claimed his spot with his next projects including Kareena Kapoor's The Devotion of Suspect X and Pataal Lok Season 2.

Between Hathiram in Paatal Lok and Bhoora in An Action Hero, you’re turning out to be a scene-stealer…

I don’t think about stealing the show or stealing the scene because I think that idea is absurd. It can ruin your character when you’re thinking of yourself and not the character. But I’m lucky that I get to play parts that audiences think are scene-stealers. I try to get good scripts. If the storytelling is good then your character is going to make some sense and if you have a good team then it’s easy to play your part and make it believable.

You have a way of merging comedy in some serious roles on screen. How do you manage it?