Listen to Story "Point out where Nagaland is on the map [of India]," a character in Paatal Lok Season 2 asks its protagonist Hathi Ram Chaudhary. This is one challenge that journalists from the northeast often throw at their colleagues from the rest of India. There is a lack of knowledge about northeast India, especially a state like Nagaland, and the scenic Seven Sisters have rarely been used to tell a story in any major Hindi film or TV series.
Whenever they have been, the result hasn't been too encouraging because of the tendency to stereotype or show the "exotic". That is why Paatal Lok Season 2 is a rare TV series and pulls off a near-impossible act. Paatal Lok avoids the common pitfalls, it doesn't treat the Naga culture as "exotic" and the people as "brutal" or "uncivilised".
The Second Season of Paatal Lok, a Prime Video series, was released on January 17 to rave reviews . The eight-episode season, revolving around Delhi Police inspector Hathi Ram Chaudhary -- played by Jaideep Ahlawat -- delves into the netherworld of human existence. The new season has used Nagaland as the backdrop as it continues probing the dark side of human nature.
It is the hill state's tryst with militancy, referred to as "the underground" in the show, and its history with drug use that has been beautifully woven into the tapestry of Paatal Lok's script. It is the diversity of Nagaland, a state with 17 major tribes and dozens of languages, that might seem intimidating for filmmakers. Such is i.
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