Season 2 of Prime Video‘s “Paatal Lok,” a riveting crime thriller created by Sudip Sharma and directed by Avinash Arun Dhaware, has emerged as India’s most-watched streaming show with 7.2 million viewers in its first week, according to data from Indian media consulting firm Ormax Media.
Adding to the show’s success, lead actor Jaideep Ahlawat has claimed the No. 1 spot on IMDb’s Popular Indian Celebrities list for his portrayal of Inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary.
The series, produced by Clean Slate Filmz in association with Eunoia Films, marks the return of its acclaimed cast including Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh and Gul Panag, with new additions Tillotama Shome, Nagesh Kukunoor and Jahnu Barua in pivotal roles. Set against the backdrop of the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, the new season follows Hathi Ram as he teams up with his trusted ally, Imran Ansari (Singh), to investigate the disappearance of a migrant worker tied to a dangerous drug syndicate. A high-stakes political game is also in play.
The crime thriller’s second season has achieved a high buzz score of 41 on Ormax Stream Track. “Our data shows that returning seasons of shows with an Ormax Power Rating of 73+ tend to generate high buzz and potency — an indicator of a title’s ability to drive subscriptions,” Keerat Grewal, head of business development at Ormax Media, told Variety.
Season 1, which bowed in 2020, stirred up a hornet’s nest upon its release, with critics hailing its gritty storytelling while political groups slammed it for allegedly stoking communal tensions. The hard-hitting crime thriller drew flak for its portrayal of caste and religious divides, sparking legal notices and boycott calls, yet its razor-sharp social commentary kept audiences hooked.
The success of Season 2 comes despite concerns that the content would be de-fanged following India’s 2021 Information Technology “Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code Rules,” which introduced strict content regulations for streaming platforms. The guidelines specifically address “challenging themes” such as drug misuse, violence and communal hatred, requiring careful classification and potentially limiting their depiction.
Creator Sharma, however, approached these challenges by reimagining the show’s tone while maintaining its essence. “It’s a less angry show this time,” Sharma told Variety. “That has got a lot to do with probably how I am as a person, and also how I saw Jaideep and Hathi Ram as a person from the first season to the second season.”
Sharma took a bold creative direction with Season 2, setting the story in India’s northeastern state of Nagaland. “If we can’t tell a Naga story for the second season of a successful show, then when can we?” he explained. “I’ve always wanted to tell a story based out there. I spent the first 20 years of my life in [the northeastern state] Assam. I have my family there.”
The decision to set the story in Nagaland wasn’t just personal but also culturally significant. “It’s the only Baptist state in the country. It has this very unique tribal culture, these various lands and tribes that are there,” Sharma said. “It has been saddled with this insurgency problem, the oldest sort of insurgency problem in the country. There is something very resilient about the race and there’s a lot of pride that you feel in the people.”
Ahlawat delivers a more nuanced performance that reflects his character’s evolution. “He’s a little more at peace with himself, a little more at peace with his place in the world,” Sharma explained. “There’s been this realization that ‘it doesn’t matter whether I’m ever rewarded for my work, I still gotta keep doing my work, because that’s who I am, that’s what makes me Hathi Ram.’”
Ahlawat’s performance is marked by a striking stillness, which he attributes to the character’s growth. “The stillness comes from acceptance,” Ahlawat said. “You can feel the tension and stillness in the script. You just try to be there. You just try to create that note.”
For Ahlawat, returning to the character was an unexpected joy. “I never thought that there will be a Season 2 for this one,” he said. “For me, this was one of the greatest opportunities I ever had in my career. When [Sharma] started writing Season 2, I was just happy, very happy. And I was just asking him, is Hathi Ram still there or not?”
The actor notes that while his character’s core remains unchanged, there’s a marked evolution in his approach to life. “At least few people who are very important to him know that OK, he is a man. He knows what he’s doing,” Ahlawat explained. “In terms of family, his wife and people like Ansari, they know that he’s an amazing person, and he knows how to do the job. But the outer world is the same. Nobody knows what’s going on, and he has made peace with it.”
The creative team approached Season 2 with a fresh perspective. “We started off on a clean slate,” Sharma revealed. “My first brief to the writers in the writers room was let’s just forget everything that we have done so far in one and let’s write it like we are writing a new show. We are just borrowing the character Hathi Ram from Season 1, and a couple of other characters.”
While the show’s future remains uncertain, particularly following Hathi Ram’s resignation from the police force at the season’s end, Sharma indicated this decision might be permanent. “I don’t know if there is ever going to be a Season 3. I mean, I haven’t really fully made up my mind yet,” Sharma said. “But knowing Hathi Ram, I don’t think he’s someone who changes his mind. So if he has quit, he has quit.”
Meanwhile, both creator and star are keeping busy with other projects. Sharma is currently directing the second season of Netflix’s “Kohhra,” while Ahlawat has completed three films and wrapped filming on “The Family Man” Season 3, where he joins Raj and DK’s hit series.