One can’t see Ahlawat and not marvel at his craft of enacting the most complicated characters, communicating the rawest emotions, and doing it right. When Pradeep thanks Shailaja on the Ferris wheel in The Three of Us for returning after 28 years and remembering him all this while, you see his repressed longing naked. It gets to you. Not many actors can emote something so intense so effortlessly. And that’s where Jaideep, as an artist, stands out to me in every character he picks.

Ahlawat as Dipankar Sanyal, the morally ambiguous journalist of Josh 24×7 from The Broken News, is another one from the actor’s long list of convoluted characters. Sanyal used to be an honest man of media but life happened, and he abandoned his colleagues Ameena Qureshi and Radha Bhargava, played by Sonali Bendre and Shriya Pilgaonkar, at Awaaz Bharati, to chase fame, money, and sensationalism at the new outlet. But the more you uncover his story in the first season, the more you realise you don’t hate him. There’s a deeper reason why Dipankar chose the path he did.

So, when I got the chance to interact with him regarding his latest project, one domineering question shadowed my mind. It was whether Jaideep, the actor, empathised with Sanyal, his character. 

I believe in the way he’s thinking, his life around the news business, and what he’s doing. I have to understand the mindset of Dipankar Sanyal. In Season 1, you can find hints that he used to be like Ameena, and then he changed his path to become THIS Dipankar Sanyal. He purposely chose to do so. And he’s not thinking about morality now because he knows there’s nothing he can get out of it. So, uska belief badal gaya tha and isliye wo bohot interesting hai ki insaan humesha shayad ek jaisa nahi rehta hai. Waqt ke sath uske vichar badalte hain, halaat badalte hain toh wo kuch naye raste apnane ki koshish karta hai.

Empathy is not black and white. You can hate someone for their choices yet empathise, or even sympathise, with them for the situations that led them to make those devastating choices, to begin with. And the scope of their redemption, therefore, becomes a tricky conversation. I asked Ahlawat if he thought Sanyal deserved a chance to redeem himself.

Yea. Always. He’s not doing anything bizarrely wrong because everybody is doing the same thing except Ameena. Jab wo ye baat bol raha hai ki isliye tumhara channel nahin chal raha kyunki tum kuch masala nahin daal rahi ho. Khabar toh wo bhi wahi dikha raha hai jo wo dikha rahi hai. Toh wo apne perception based khabar dikha raha hai. Uska catharsis hona toh laazmi hai.

An antagonist you hate for their choices and not for their personality is the most difficult kind to pull off because there are a lot of layers an artist has to be cognisant of. As an actor, you must ensure people abhor them in moments, but not give up on them. So, you’re left rooting for a ‘supposed’ villain. In this case, it’s hard to call Dipankar Sanyal a conventionally evil guy. And Ahlawat had something to say about this. 

Hum apne aas paas bohot saare logon ko dekhte hain jo humein pata hai ki genuinely waise nahin hain, but the world has made them like that. Aap ko pata hai ki wo ye kyun kar raha hain. He is not THAT Dipankar Sanyal at home. He’s alone. He’s a lonely guy. He’s putting a mask on every single day. Wo aadmi ko pata hai ki ye jhooth bol raha hai. ‘Kyunki saari duniya ko yahi dekhna hai, toh main yahi dikhaoonga. Jab main kuch aur dikha raha tha tab toh kisi ne mujhe kuch poocha nahin’…toh he has done that. Duniya par tab koi asar nahin pad raha tha jab main kuch aur kar raha tha, toh main ab kyun samjhoon? He’s not a dark guy, he’s not a villainous person. 

Sanyal is a layered character. However, one can imagine Ahlawat bringing nuance to even the most badly written characters. That’s just how strong a hold he has on his craft. But it’s not like he always wanted to be an actor. The actor hails from Kharkara, Meham village in Haryana. He wanted to become an army officer. While wanting to join the defense forces and being an artist aren’t mutually exclusive, it’s sure unheard of. This prompted me to ask how Ahlawat’s understanding of cinema has evolved. Did he always search for nuance in stories or there was a time in his life when cinema was just a medium for escapism and nothing else?

Wo kahin bohot gehre mein pada hota hai uska waqt aata hai jab usko bahar nikalna hota hai aur aapki cinema ki understanding fir dheere dheere badti hai, badalti hai. Mujhe lagta hai jitna bhi aap kisi art form mein zyada ghusoge aapko utna ehsaas hoga ki aap bohot kam jante ho us baare mein kyuki wo bohot vast hai. 

Jab Haryana ke ganv mein aap cinema dekhte ho fir usi background se jab aap bahar jate ho, film school jate ho poora ka poora world badal jata hai, cinema ka matlab hi change ho jaata hai aapke liye. Aur fir aap dobara se usi industry mein kaam karte ho jis industry se aap wo wala daur mein influence hue the, aap accept karna shuru karte ho. Ki haan, ye bhi ek tarah ka cinema hai aur ye bhi ek tarah ka cinema hai aur sabka apna apna baat karne ka dhang hai. 

If there’s one thing Ahlawat has often talked about in his interviews, it’s the turnaround point in his life that led him to become an actor. That point was watching the Oedipus play directed by Sunil Chitkara at a time when he was really hopeless about life and career in general.

Us daur mein main 20-21 saal ka ladka tha jisko bohot umeed hai apne aap se ki wo Indian army officer toh ban hi jayega. Ek worthlessness wali feeling aati hai na aapko failure se…I think wo thoda zyada gehra kar gaya tha. Aaj jab aap dekhte ho aapko lagta hai ki nahin yaar itna bhi serious hone ki zaroorat nahin thi.

He watched the play and, that same night, visited the director. Soon enough, he was working with him.

Aap kisi chiz ke liye bane ho, aur wo nahin ho pa rahi hai toh wo Oedipus ka ek thought tha ki ‘character vs destiny’. Aap chaha ke bhi wo nahi kar paaoge jo aapke bhagya mein nahin likha hai, toh I think wo hit kar gaya tha. Aapko lagta hai, ki haan, kuch hua aaj, chalo milte hai is aadmi se. Aisa nahin tha ki main manch par nahi chadhta tha, natak bohot dekhte the hum har saal youth festivals mein…us world se aapka rabta toh tha hi. Toh unse mila aur fir wo journey shuru.

And now he’s made it. You know, when you see the name ‘Jaideep Ahlawat’ in the star cast, you won’t be disappointed. I asked him if that ever pressured him. But he let me know that wasn’t his way of working. Whenever he picks a character, he stays with them, immerses himself in them, and roots for them, regardless of whether the project is a success or not.

Ahlawat made his Hindi film debut with Khatta Meetha, starring Akshay Kumar, in 2010. On a personal level, if I think about a role where Jaideep made an everlasting impression on me, it would be Shahid Khan in Gangs Of Wasseypur. I mean, the film series is now a cult classic. As shocking as it is, the success of that film did not really reflect on his acting career. He has another project to label as his ‘MAKE IT’ moment.

Paatal Lok. I think Paatal Lok ke baad sab badal gaya. Usse pehle aapko sab milta tha sunne ko ki aapne acha kaam kiya hai but wo wahin tak reh jaati thi baat aage nahin badhti thi. Mujhe lagta hai kaam wo wala aisa hota hai ki jab agle din se sirf aapke paas script aye. 

While the perception of stories can be subjective, there have been several films in Hindi cinema that lacked nuance. These are films for film’s sake with over-the-top action, pompous music, and peculiar dialogues. When I enquired Ahlawat about his opinion on the same, he explained how he finds all kinds of cinema essential.

Har tarah ka cinema zaroori hai. Koi bhi ek chiz khaoge na, bore ho jaoge lagataar usko khate khate. Qala mein experiment hona bohot zaroori hai. Aap action filmein banao, aap thriller banao, aap horror banao, aap romantic filmein banao, aap comedy banao, realistic filmein… jo bhi jis bhi dhang se aap bnana chahte ho, mujhe usse koi rabta nahi hai. Jab aap usko bana rahe ho toh phir dil se banao. Dekho kya hota hai na business bhi bohot zaroori hai. Art ko flourish hone ko business ki bhi zaroorat hoti hai.

But that is also where another perspective comes forth. With the hold movies have over the Indian audience, it’s hard to decipher whether cinema is a standalone construct or if it has societal implications. Where art mimics reality stands true, if there’s one thing last year has taught us, it is that stories impact society too. But the actor had a different perspective, and it made sense, to a certain extent.

Mujhe is baat mein thoda kam hi bharosa hai ki filmon se samaaj banta hai kyuki samaaj se filmeing uthayi jaati hain, aur fir wahi aapko dobara dikhayi jaati hain. Fir aapko lagta hai ki oo aaptoh humko yeh dikha rahe ho, nahin ye aapke andar ki hi kahaaniyan hai wo. Cinema se samaaj badalta toh bohot kuch badal chuka hota.

Sometimes, in quest of portraying the most realistic pictures, films end up glamorising the problematic elements. But that is a conversation for another day. With an actor like Ahlawat who has almost always delivered nuanced performances, I was curious to understand his process of selecting scripts. He told me it’s the first impression that the first reading of the scripts cast that matters the most. He has played some phenomenal roles, but there have been two characters that stayed with him.

Raazi and Pataal Lok. Especially Raazi. Pataal Lok ka poora season hi bohot disturbing hai…toh wo apke sath kahin na kahin din mein aapki jo personal life hai uspar impact karta hai. It’s not a bad effect you on your life, it disturbs you… it disturbs you in a very nice way also. Aap logo se baat karna pasand nahi karte ho, apni hi duniya chal rahi hoti hai aap usi mein bahar ki chiz ko samet lete ho. It does not hurt you or haunt you.

The truth is they stayed with the actor as they stayed with us. Whatever Jaideep does stays with us because he does everything with such conviction that it doesn’t leave you with another option. I loved all the performances in Jaane Jaan, but, for me, that film will always be about Ahlawat. The Broken News S2 has released on Zee5 today and I can’t wait to get back home and binge watch the show all over again. As for my interaction with him, I’m glad it happened. Like I said, I’ll remember it. It will stay with me.