Paatal Lok worked wonders for Jaideep Ahlawat and put him out there on the map. Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary, an understated character, became the star of a blockbuster show. But with great fame comes great money in Bollywood.
There were several reports that the actor charged 50 times for Paatal Lok season 2. In the first season, he charged Rs 40 lakh, but for the second season, he hiked his fee to Rs 20 crore.
Jaideep recently addressed these reports at an interview, where he denied charging this much for season 2.
Laughing off the rumours, Jaideep said, "Arre yaar itna tha toh mujhe bata toh dete. Main kuch kar leta iss paise ka. Hai kahan ye paisa, gaya kahan? (If it was that much, they should have at least told me. I would have done something with the money. Where is this money? Where did it go?)"
In season 2, Jaideep reprised his role as Inspector Hathiram Chaudhary. Produced by Sudip Sharma and directed by Avinash Arun Dhaware, the second season retained many actors from the previous season, like Ishwak Singh and Gul Panag, as well as added a cast of fresh faces, like Tillotama Shome, Jahnu Barua and Nagesh Kukunoor, among others.
On the film front, Jaideep was last seen in the 2024 film Maharaj, which also featured Junaid Khan, Shalini Pandey and Sharvari.
Looking forward, Jaideep also has a bunch of exciting projects lined up. He will be seen in Jewel Thief with Saif Ali Khan and Hisaab with Shefali Shah. There's also a film with Vipul Amrutlal Shah, and another with Neeraj Yadav. Jaideep will also be seen in a negative role in Family Man 3 alongside Manoj Bajpayee.