Paatal Lok Season 2:
A murder mystery in the foreground of the gestalt of market capitalism & growth in India
Introduction
After having written rather long blogs on Kohhra, Udtaa Panjab, and Dahaad, I was quite worried that one more blog on the intricate web of crime, murder, political vendettas, police organizations, and the subaltern social systems where weary, flawed, cynical and yet humane characters slug out their battles would become weary for my readers. It was this worry that did not energize me to write about Paatal Lok — I also suspect that I would be labelled as Sudip Sharma’s fan.
However, Paatal Lok — Season 2, another neo-noir mystery murder, written by Sudip Sharma, blew my mind — a long international flight allowed me to watch all of the eight episodes, and left me with many things to chew on. In this blog, I seek to integrate the gestalt lens of looking at this thriller for any other take would be reductionist and destroy the magic within.
While this blog looks at the second season, and if you like it — you must watch the season 1 — Season 1 is an extremely courageous take on the dominant narrative of Hindu nationalism and dives into the fringe narratives — concerning the lives of the trans-gender, the untouchable, and the tribal refugee who live in eastern Delhi. Paatal Lok is the name given to a hellish underworld that co-exists with the Heaven (the world of the elite), and the Earth (the world of the petit bourgeoisie and the burgeoning middle class) and it takes a tough protagonist known as Hathiram Chowdhary played by Jaideep Ahlawat to take us through a ring side view of hell and bring us back to the comforts of our living rooms.
The Protagonist willing to walk through Hell
Introducing Hathiram Chowdhary
Hathiram Chowdhary is a complex character and continues to the central protagonist is the Paatal Lok series — there is an air of cynicism, darkness, and self-defeatism that seems to cloak his strengths — he is extremely intelligent, has a memory of an elephant, willing to do hard work policing, and yet unable to claim his space and the accompanying plaudits and centrality that he yearns for. He mentors others only to find them as either ingrate or who end up becoming his boss. Jaideep Ahlawat is brilliant in making Hathiram accessible to us — as we discover strands of humaneness and pragmaticism that Hathiram exhibits as he gets his hands dirty in hell.
Hathiram is willing to walk through hell — he remains stoic and pragmatic — there is no romantic idealism that energizes him — the hell exists and so does he. He makes us weep when he drowns in his tragic tale only to emerge out of this swamp and astounds us with his physical strength (he is as strong as an elephant — and this is the last time when I refer to the metaphor), his resilience, and his energy.
I must state that Gul Panag has been equally brilliant in her understated character — that of being Hathiram’s wife. She grows as both the seasons’ evolve — as she embraces her constraints, her marriage, an empty nest, and her husband — Hathiram’s flaws including a patriarchal lens of looking at marriage and fatherhood. Ms. Panag as Renu completes Hathiram’s claustrophobic and psychological captivity, and also offers him a key perhaps in the end of Season 2.
The Foreground / The Figure
It begins with a Brutal Murder
Many moons ago, I had been watching a Sudip Sharma’s interview, where he had spoken of seeding narratives in various parts of India — both Udtaa Panjab and Kohhra are based in Punjab. It was awe-inspiring that Paatal Lok explores Nagaland — a state that most of us as Indians may be ignorant about.
Season 2 begins with a gruesome murder and the consequent be-heading of a powerful Naga leader (Jonathan Thom) in a hotel based in Delhi.
Imran Ansari (played by Ishwak Singh) has risen in rank — having cleared IPS at the end of Paatal Lok Season 1 — and now takes charge of this sensitive case. His ex-boss and now his subordinate — Hathiram is busy investigating the disappearance of a poor man who plays a trumpet in a marriage band — both of them discover that their respective cases have an intriguing intersection of sorts…
Paatal Lok Season 2 takes us into the state of Nagaland, where the two police officers (albeit with their roles reversed) travel all the way and begin their investigations. Like great thrillers of the past — such as the French Connection, Hathiram and Imran Ansari begin their narrative as outsiders. They walk into this quagmire — perhaps not fully understanding what they are getting into.
The foreground has several sub-plots intertwined together — drug addiction and rehabilitation, corrupt industrialists and traders, youth gangs not afraid to become terrorist, seeking independence from India, to inter-clan rivalry in mafiosi families etc. There is of course a salute to Jack Nicholson’s Chinatown — and this particular sub-plot was really unnecessary — but the other subplots created the right kind of confusion and smokescreens for a really good murder mystery.
While the criminal subplots are interesting nuggets — what makes this series lovable is the personal narratives of the three police characters. Hathiram has his battles — from a manipulative but well meaning brother-in-law to his bitter half — Renu seems to be more distant as the series progress. Ansari’s love story brings a smile as both men compare and contrast the price of intimacy. Tillotama’s character — SP Meghana Barua brings in her own freshness — she brings alive the narrative of single mother and a powerful local cop.
The Gestalt: Looking at Growth & Development from the lens of market capitalism
I have referred to Gestalt theory in this blog for the canvass of Paatal Lok Season 2 is compelling — it provides a sense of holism that is critical to understanding the array of sub-plots including that of the murder in the foreground (the figure).
Nagaland is showcased as a tribalistic state that is on the verge of terrific and terrifying growth — Paatal Lok Season 2 begins with an industrial summit that is to attract Rs. 25,000 million (or Rs. 25 billion) and it is at this summit Jonathan Nom is murdered and then decapitated.
Season 2 is narrated partly through ‘Nagamese’ — a pidgin language and a mix of Assamese, English, Bengali and Hindi and is enlivened by a cast actors who come from this geography. It is only Hathiram and his superior — Ansari who are hindi-speaking and very much the outsiders into this strange land.
The background thus becomes quite complex — how does one look at the lens of growth and market capitalism for a land that has been tribalistic in its structure and its values. In Ashok Malhotra’s EUM framework, the background is that of a world of Clans that is fragmenting and disintegrating away into violent Arenas — the sense of violence, rivalry, us versus them is palpable, and yet the Network (Market Capitalism) is being vouched as the only salvation for this land.
The background resonates with how the colonizer extracted and violated tribalistic systems, except here the colonizer is the retinue of industrialists who are coming down to Nagaland for tax benefits. The industrialization of Nagaland promises employment and careers for the angry younger Nagas … it is yet to ascertain how this would happen, but it is only this world that can offer ‘hope’.
The background canvass is beautifully showcased by Paatal Lok — Season 2: Nagaland is at times embellished by natural mists and forests, and yet there are festivities of Christmas that promise ‘joy’ to the living. The tribalistic clans and the rivalry within are also captured quite well — there are hidden oasis and protected spaces.
The violence of the foreground and the strange and yet promised transition in the background complete and integrate a series of intense narratives that are stated in Season 2. The characters become accessible and their humanity is compassionately offered by the writers and the actors.
There are no clear stances — just stories that rivet your attention and make you ask questions on how capitalism can be both disruptively violent and offer prosperity and excellence. What the season 2 leaves you with is questions for the viewer on several dilemmas and double-binds — how does one engage with legacy of ancient lore, old ways of looking at self, systems, and nature and yet prepare for the ineluctable future … was the killer right or wrong?
The essential shift in the gestalt is the ‘erosion of kinship within a clan’ to the rise of the transactional Self in the market world … a shift that has many dimensions. Of aloneness, of instrumentality, of abuse, and of pragmatism. where does belonging and faith go?
Conclusion
I would not like to provide any more information — for these would only spoil your experience of a complex season that retains the excellence demonstrated in Paatal Lok Season 1. Do have a look and feel free to offer your thoughts and reflections…
If you like the blog — a friend of mine — Makarand wrote a blog on the same series on the same night — Am copying it here — there is a sense of serendipitous complementing between our writings — do have a look!
