PremiumPaatal Lok Season 3 happening? Sudip Sharma gives an update: ‘I haven't thought about…’ | Exclusive
Paatal Lok Creator Sudip Sharma sat down with OTTplay for an exclusive chat where he spoke about the possibility of a season 3 and how he approaches it.
Last Updated: 03.20 PM, Jan 13, 2025
2020 certainly turned out to be the year when the Indian audience shifted to streaming, thanks to the pandemic, and there were takers for almost every kind of content. It was also the year when we discovered some of the best shows, and one of them was Amazon Prime Video’s Paatal Lok. Starring Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Neeraj Kabi, Abhishek Banerjee, Gul Panag, and an ensemble cast, the show became one of the most loved ones in the Indian streaming space. Creator Sudip Sharma, known for films like Udta Punjab, NH10, and more, was the voice behind the show and has since given OTT in India some exceptional content. Now, as he returns with Season 2 of the Prime Video show, in an exclusive conversation with OTTplay, he spoke about the possibility of Paatal Lok Season 3.
Sudip Sharma on Paatal Lok Season 3
Sudip Sharma, the showrunner/creator of Paatal Lok Seasons 1 and 2, which is directed by Avinash Arun, spoke to OTTplay about the show and how the geography changes completely in Season 2. When asked about Season 3, he said there are no plans for it yet, but he would consider it if the stars align. He expressed hope that Hathiram would return to solve yet another case.
When asked whether Paatal Lok Season 3 is already on track, Sharma said, “No. In the sense that it's not on track already. It takes a lot of time like I told you. It takes four or five years to make a show. Sometimes it takes less, but in making Paatal Lok, both seasons took half a decade each. So we will see how it goes, we'll see what everyone’s consensus says. Pancho ki kya rai hai (what the bosses have to say). This character (Hathiram) is very fun and interesting, but I haven't thought about whether I will make a third season or not. We all have our own commitments, but we will see. I am open to the idea, but a lot of things need to fall in place for a show like this. At this point in time, Season 2 is releasing, and I am just happy about that.”
Paatal Lok Season 2 Shifts to Nagaland
In the same conversation, Sudip Sharma discussed what the shift to Nagaland means for Paatal Lok Season 2 and why he took this risk. When asked about changing the entire world from Season 1 to Season 2, Sharma said, “I find that challenge very exciting. Of course, it is a challenge because you are making your life difficult. You have made a world, and it is understood by you and your audience. Everyone has a hang of that world. Now, you are saying that you are changing that world and taking the show to a completely new one. First, I will have to understand the new landscape, then explain it to the audience, cast, and crew, so you are making your life difficult. But that is something I find very exciting because it took me four years to shape the first season.”
He added, “2016 was when I started writing Paatal Lok Season 1, and 2020 was when it came out. I have already lived in that world for four years. By the end of it, you get tired of it. So as you step into the second season, as a creator, I want something fresh for myself; the audience comes later. Because you know you have spent four or five more years with this new season. You have to live that entire process again, so if I stick to the same world, chances are even I might get bored of it. That was the primary reason.”
Talking about how he gets to relive his childhood through Paatal Lok Season 2, Sharma said, “So my brief to the room was, what can we do drastically differently than what we have already done in the Hindi heartland (UP, Punjab, Bundelkhand) of India? Let's go to a completely new place which has no bearing whatsoever with the first season. We actually took it up as a challenge, and that is how Nagaland came up. Since I grew up in Assam, I had a familiarity with the landscape, with the Northeast. And I wanted to go back and explore. So we found a very different world for Paatal Lok Season 2 and also fulfilled my urge to peep into my childhood again—not in an obvious way, my childhood wasn't like this at all—just in the sense that I had not been to Assam in a very long time. Paatal Lok Season 2 allowed me to stay there for months, meet a lot of friends, new people, and visit a lot of new places I had forgotten about.”
Paatal Lok Season 2 hits Amazon Prime Video on January 17, and Season 1 is already streaming on the platform. Stay tuned to OTTplay for more information on this and everything else from the world of streaming and films.