Happy Birthday Jaideep Ahlawat – From Khatta Meetha to Gangs of Wasseypur, here are the actor’s must-watch films on OTT

The 44-year-old Jaideep Ahlawat gained recognition with the black comedy crime film Gangs of Wasseypur, which was released in 2012.

Actor Jaideep Ahlawat at The Himalayan Film Festival in Leh (PC: Instagram)

Hailing from Haryana, Jaideep Ahlawat, who turns 44 today, is an actor who made a name for himself without any support or connections in the showbiz industry. After graduating from the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, Jaideep appeared in a guest role in the short film Narmeen in 2009 on YouTube followed by his celluloid debut in the Priyadarshan-directed action thriller Aakrosh a year later. Here’s a list of his well-known films available to watch on various OTT platforms.

Aakrosh (2010)

Headlined by popular stars like Ajay Devgn and Akshaye Khanna, this 2010 honour killing-based release by Priyadarshan saw Jaideep play the role of Pappu Tiwari. In a distant village where caste politics is prevalent, three college students disappear. Ajay Devgn, an army officer, and Akshaye Khanna, a CBI official, are dispatched to investigate the infamous case that has turned into a hot topic in the country. They find out it's an honour killing, but before they can find closure, they must deal with the local resistance, which consists of goons, crooked police officers, and netas.

Streaming platform – Amazon Prime Video

Also Read: Jaane Jaan opportunity missed but Saif Ali Khan collaborates with Jaideep Ahlawat for THIS Siddharth Anand movie

Khatta Meetha (2010)

A political satire, once again helmed by Priyadarshan, Khatta Meetha gave more screen space to Jaideep’s character Sanjay Rane. Jaideep won accolades from critics for portraying a dubious politician in this movie. A former girlfriend and her family, the local government, his family, and his workers create obstacles for an apparently dishonest small-time contractor (Akshay Kumar), who turns to the politician in Jaideep Ahlawat to help him out. How the story pans out makes for an interesting watch.

Streaming platform – Amazon Prime Video

Also Read: Jaideep Ahlawat ‘froze’ while working with Shah Rukh Khan in Raees

Chittagong (2012)

A historical war drama directed by Bedabrata Pain, Chittagong’s plot is set against a little-known tale from 1930s British colonial India's East Bengal (now Bangladesh). A group of young ladies and schoolboys, led by Masterda Surya Sen (Manoj Bajpayee), a schoolteacher, dared to challenge the British Empire. The protagonist of Chittagong is a shy 14-year-old named Jhunku (Delzad Hiwale). The reluctant adolescent is drawn into this task that seems unachievable, and he fights self-doubt to pull off an unlikely victory.

The 50-odd students are trained by Masterda and his allies Loknath Bal (Rajkummar Rao), Ambika Chakraborthy (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), and Ananta Singh (Jaideep Ahlawat), with the goal of seizing Chittagong on April 18, 1930, by cutting off all forms of communication. What happens next makes for an intriguing watch for movie lovers.

Streaming platform – Apple TV, YouTube

Gangs of Wasseypur – Part I (2012)

Every man has his day, goes an adage. The Anurag Kashyap film Gangs of Wasseypur – Part I made this come true for our birthday boy, Jaideep Ahlawat. Centred on Dhanbad’s coal mafia-made Ahlawat, the movie catapulted him into the limelight for essaying Shahid Khan, the Khan family’s patriarch. The black comedy made filmmakers as well as the audience sit up and take notice of the unexplored acting prowess that lay hidden in newbies like Jaideep and that he could be counted on for meatier roles in the future. Power struggles, politics, dark humour, a captivating soundtrack and realistic filming drew viewers to theatres and the film won big at the National Film Awards and the Filmfare Awards.

Streaming platform – Amazon Prime Video

Commando – A One Man Army (2013)

Taking his acting game up by a few notches, Jaideep was seen playing a dreaded gangster called Amrit “AK-74” Kanwal in the first part of this action thriller, directed by Dilip Ghosh. The main character of the movie is Karan (Vidyut Jammwal), an Indian Para SF Captain who escapes from a Chinese prison and meets Simrit (Pooja Chopra), who is being pursued by AK-74 and his henchmen. When Karan discovers that AK-74 is determined to marry Simrit against her will to further his political ambitions, he steps in to save her. As they are being followed farther into the forest, Karan utilises his martial arts combat expertise to fend off AK-74's goons. The film's first installment was followed by Commando 2: The Black Money Trail in 2017 and Commando 3 in 2019.

Streaming platform – ZEE5

Gabbar is Back (2015)

Borrowing the name of the movie's antagonist from the 1975 film Sholay (played by Amjad Khan), Gabbar is Back is an official adaptation of AR Murugadoss's 2002 Tamil film Ramanaa. The narrative centres on a single man's crafty battle against corruption. Akshay Kumar, aka Gabbar, kidnaps ten people from the same field to carry out a clandestine attack against dishonest government officials.

Ten tehsildars are abducted at the beginning of the story; nine are subsequently freed, and one is publicly executed. The notion is that the harsh penalties inflicted by their peers will deter dishonest officers and compel them to change their ways. Playing the role of CBI officer Kuldeep Pahwa, Jaideep Ahlawat is seen handling the case with poise as the plot reveals itself.

Streaming platform – Netflix, Apple TV, YouTube

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