Jaideep Ahlawat: Want to tell everyone I am a dancer as well

Jaideep Ahlawat

Jaideep Ahlawat has an appeal for filmmakers - he wishes to be cast in a project that explores his dancing skills. The actor and dance don't seem to go together, did you say? But here's the thing about Ahlawat; he is a step ahead of the sometimes unimaginative ways of the industry. Before Bollywood - inspired by his stellar performances in Paatal Lok (2020) and Raazi (2018) - can pigeon-hole him into brooding roles, he has shed the image and charted the unfamiliar territory of love stories with Netflix's Ajeeb Daastaans.

"I am grateful Shashank [Khaitan, director] thought of me for this character. Considering the way he narrated Bablu bhaiya's [his character] complexities, I was keen to try my hand at the role. [That said], I was fearful whether I would be able to tell the story the way he intended," begins Ahlawat, who is joined by Fatima Sana Shaikh and Armaan Rahlan in the short film.

The short film, Majnu, has been helmed by Shashank Khaitan

For the actor, the anthology is the first step towards dabbling in romance. "I would love to play a romantic hero. I want to tell everyone that I am a dancer as well. I might not be one of the finest dancers around, but I can catch the beat, and have done several stage shows in my college days. I want [filmmakers] to write a script [that helps me explore the art]."

The raging success of Paatal Lok last year made him an overnight star. But with success, comes the pressure to sustain it. He admits that whatever he does here on, the audience will "view it through a different lens". "Since we delivered a show that was deeply loved by people, the pressure is to deliver something better. I want to explore different roles, otherwise the audience and I will get bored. I must say, I am amazed to read the kind of scripts that have come my way, post the series." The second season of the gritty crime drama was to roll early this year. Asked about the developments on that front, he says, "We can't travel due to the current situation, so everything is on hold. We hope to start [shooting] once normalcy is restored."