The trailer of one of the most interesting web series of this year ‘Patal Lok 2’ is out. After a long wait of 5 years, Jaideep Ahlot is once again set to entertain with a solid story in the role of police officer Hati Ram Chaudhary.
In the trailer of ‘Patal Lok 2’, the presence of powerhouse actors like Ashok Singh, Gul Panag and Tilutma Shom along with Jaydeep is interesting. Also, the story has a lot of suspense that keeps the audience engaged. However, another interesting thing in this trailer is that the plot of the show is based on Nagaland, located in the northeastern part of the country.
Darkness deepens in Nagaland
It looks like Nagaland and the decades-long violence there is shaping up to be a major plot point in the story of Jaydeep Ahlot’s Amazon Prime show ‘Patil Lok 2’. If we remember the season 1 of ‘Paatal Lok’, the show works like a social thriller. The cases handled by Hathiram Chowdhury delve into the layers of socio-political environment that change people’s behavior and present a character study of dark characters.
In season 2, Hathiram is going to face the case of the murder of a Nagaland leader. To solve the mystery of the case, he will have to travel to Nagaland, where the violence of various tribal communities and their conflicts with power will be addressed. However, this year Nagaland will be seen as a character in the story of another very popular show.
‘The Family Man’ also moved to Nagaland.
Another very popular show of Amazon Prime ‘The Family Man’ is going to bring its third season this year. The Manoj Bajpayee starrer show has also impressed the masses with the story of its first two seasons. In the story of the first season of ‘The Family Man’, Mumbai and Kashmir were part of the main plot. While in the story of the second season, the work was part of Chennai.
Now in the third season the story is going to reach Nagaland. And for a show like ‘The Family Man’, it is almost impossible not to make the ongoing conflict within Nagaland a part of the story. A major part of ‘The Family Man 3’ has been shot in Nagaland, reports have revealed and the actors have also shared pictures from there.
Bollywood movies are shot in North East.
It’s not that Nagaland, Meghalaya or Arunachal Pradesh haven’t figured in the story before, or that films haven’t been shot there. Dev Anand’s film ‘Jewel Thief’ (1967) was shot in Sikkim when it was not even a part of India. Reports suggest that the Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Farooq Sheikh starrer ‘Ek Pal’ was shot for several parts in Shillong (Meghalaya) and Jorhat (Assam).
In the 90s, parts of Salman Khan’s film Qurbani (1991) were shot in Shillong, Meghalaya. The song ‘Tanhai Tanai’ from Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Koela’ (1997) was shot in Arunachal. While Raveena Tandon starrer ‘Daaman’ (2001) was shot in Assam, John Abraham’s ‘Saya’ (2003) was shot in parts of Nagaland. ‘Rock On 2’ in 2016 and ‘Rangoon’ in 2017 were also shot in the Northeast. But in the last few years, the Northeast has not only become a place but also a part of film stories and controversies.
The story is deepening from the northeastern states.
Even before ‘Patil Lok 2’ and ‘The Family Man 3’, the northeastern part of the country has been part of the story in some recent Bollywood films. In Ayushmann Khurrana’s film ‘Aneek’ (2022), the ongoing separatist movements in the North-Eastern states, the violence of tribal groups and the culture there were mainly made into the plot of the story. Shot in Assam and Meghalaya, ‘Anek’ is one of the biggest Bollywood films based in the Northeast.
The 2022 horror-comedy film ‘Bhidiya’ was also set in the Northeast. In the film, which was shot in several districts of Arunachal, the local people, society and mythology were woven into the story very well. Paying the price for development, the loss of natural resources and the environment of the Northeast, was the central theme of this Varun Dhawan film.
How is the craze growing?
Landscape plays a major role in the narrative of films. Locations set the mood of the film’s story. The mountains, valleys, forests and waterfalls of the Northeast not only create beautiful visuals but also help to create a sense of suspense and mystery. A new scenario engages the audience because along with the characters, they see everything around them that seems new. Be it North or South, most of the popular locations have been used a lot in the movies and Uttarakhand or Kashmir in the name of the mountains have also been used a lot in the movies. While the Northeast is full of naturally beautiful places, which the public has not seen in movies till date. Filmmakers are now exploring these locations.
Another major factor is that Nagaland and Arunachal, as well as several other states, have a decades-long history of conflict between tribal communities. In many places this struggle is still going on. These states also have political and social conflicts that can become the plot of movies and add depth to the story. A large section of the Hindi-speaking population of Bollywood is still not very familiar with the politics and social conflicts of these states. In such a case, the criticism on social media regarding the story of the film can also be avoided.
The third major advantage is related to the cost of shooting the film. In 2017, the Chief Minister of Assam had announced a subsidy of up to 45 percent for films shot in the state. Steps have been taken over the past several years to promote film tourism in the state. Several types of permits and passes are required for shooting in Arunachal Pradesh. But in the last few years, single-window clearance for these permits has been introduced, which has made it easier to shoot films there.
Meghalaya is also on the way to becoming film-friendly and there are various discounts and subsidies available for shooting films in the state. Similar facilities are available in Nagaland, where the state is also working on its own film policy that will promote film tourism. Sikkim also won the ‘Most Film Friendly’ state award at the National Film Awards, 2021.
The beautiful pictures of the culture and places of North Eastern states have always attracted people’s attention. Now it remains to be seen how far Bollywood explores the beauty of this naturally gifted part of the country on the big screen.
Patil Lok 2
