In the stacked landscape of Indian dramas this decade, Paatal Lok has stood out for its unflinching look at society, and the invisible walls that demarcate us – whether by caste or class, by race or religion. A critical success when it was first shown in 2020, the series centres around small-time Delhi cop Hathi Ram Chaudhary (Jaideep Ahlawat), who's thrown into the deep end when a high-profile assassination-attempt case lands in his lap.
Through Hathi Ram's investigation, audiences found themselves engrossed in a richly woven world that's far from perfect but so vividly rendered that you couldn't look away. And by the end of the season, when our flawed protagonist and his accomplices eventually piece together the many puzzles they unearth, you're left wanting more – despite the trail of destruction and body count we have seen along the way.
Nearly five years after Paatal Lok premiered, writer and creator Sudip Sharma is taking things up a notch with season two, shifting the action to India's north-east, a politically charged region with its own set of unique issues, and very rarely accurately depicted on screen.
The season opens with the grisly murder of Jonathan Thom (Kaguirong Gonmei), a powerful politician from Nagaland state, who was in New Delhi to attend a business summit. It's soon revealed that Thom did not have the full support of some parties in his state, who accuse him of cosying up to the Indian government, possibly giving them a motive to kill him.
Elsewhere, Hathi Ram is given the case of a missing man, whose wife and young son refuse to leave his police station. He soon establishes a link between the missing man and Thom's murder, kicking off a dangerous cat-and-mouse game, expanding the Paatal Lok universe into a world few Indian shows or films have gone.
With its fragile political landscape and cultures starkly different from the rest of India, very few films and shows have been set in the north-east. And when they are, they've mostly spun one-dimensional narratives and stereotypical tales of exotic people prone to violence, hell-bent on taking up arms to fight for secession from India.
It helps that writer and creator Sharma was born in the north-east. Setting the story in Nagaland, a picturesque state rich in culture and with its own fraught politics, also lends perfectly to the kind of narrative edge on which Paatal Lok thrives.
Hathi Ram and partner Ansari (Ishwak Singh), his junior in season one who's now become his superior, arrive in Nagaland to investigate the link. They soon uncover a tangled web of political games, mixed with a thriving drug ring involving powerful businessmen in mainland India, and power brokers in Delhi desperate to extract everything they can from business opportunities opening up in a new region.
Ahlawat once again shines as Hathi Ram, a cop wary of the games he has to play to thrive in his job but who often cannot help himself when it comes to answering the call of duty. His camaraderie with Singh's Ansari remains electric, even if their power dynamics have shifted, secretly calling each other by their first names when they're alone.
Tillotama Shome as a no-nonsense police officer, Meghna Barua, charged with taking care of Hathi Ram and Ansari while they conduct their investigation in Nagaland, is brilliant and even nails the accent, while Nagesh Kukunoor, as an Indian bureaucrat with deep ties to Nagaland, who may or may not have the state's best interest at heart, is riveting to watch.
The show's setting also gives a number of north-east Indian talents the stage to shine, namely Naga rapper Lc Sekhose as Reuben Thom, Jonathan Thom's estranged son who becomes an unwitting pawn in the high-stakes power game. Comedian Merenla Imsong, who's also from Nagaland, excels in her role as a drug addict framed for the murder of Jonathan Thom, who goes on the run from both the authorities and the gangs who want her dead.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Sharma and his team of co-writers have done their due diligence, building a thrilling world of characters in a fresh setting. And, just like the first season, there are no didactic storylines, just a stark look at the very different worlds we exist in within our society, where trying to cross over to another often leads to deadly consequences.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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The five pillars of Islam
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
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Catchweight 60kg: Mohammed Al Katheeri (UAE) beat Mostafa El Hamy (EGY) TKO round 3
Light Heavyweight: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) no contest Kevin Oumar (COM) Unintentional knee by Oumer
Catchweight 73kg: Yazid Chouchane (ALG) beat Ahmad Al Boussairy (KUW) Unanimous decision
Featherweight: Faris Khaleel Asha (JOR) beat Yousef Al Housani (UAE) TKO in round 2 through foot injury
Welterweight: Omar Hussein (JOR) beat Yassin Najid (MAR); Split decision
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Sallah Eddine Dekhissi (MAR); Round-1 TKO
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali Musalim (UAE) beat Medhat Hussein (EGY); Triangle choke submission
Welterweight: Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) beat Sofiane Oudina (ALG); Triangle choke Round-1
Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Saleem Al Bakri (JOR); Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Nawras Abzakh (JOR); TKO round-2
Catchweight 63kg: Rany Saadeh (PAL) beat Abdel Ali Hariri (MAR); Unanimous decision
The five pillars of Islam
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
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Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
