It is not for nothing that Bollywood got the name of Mayanagari, there are many ups and downs here. This industry makes people diamonds in a moment, while at the same time stars lose their name and fame. Many times people coming here start getting success from the first film itself, while many times they have to wander in search of work even after a long struggle. Many power packed stars also had to struggle to establish themselves in this industry. Just like people get lost in the crowd of Mumbai local, in the same way these stars also get lost in the crowd of strugglers coming to films. They have to spend a long time in search of a right opportunity. Today we will tell you about one such gem, who did not get his place easily in the film industry. After hard work and a long wait, this actor was able to become a hero. After small roles, he entered as a villain and became a guru of acting in no time. This actor is today the 'Maharaja' of the OTT world. 

Struggled at the beginning of career

There was a time when this actor had to struggle to get recognition. He used to get only a few minutes of roles in films which definitely reached the audience, but could not leave an impression. In the initial phase, his acting was often not liked by the people. This was until an OTT series changed his fortunes. Critics never stopped praising him. We are talking about OTT star Jaideep Ahlawat. His character of Delhi Police officer Hathi Ram Chaudhary in the acclaimed web series 'Paatal Lok' proved to be a game-changer for him. 

How did you start your career

Jaideep Ahlawat hails from Kharkada, Meham village in Rohtak district of Haryana. His initial passion was theatre and serving his country. As a youth, he aspired to become an Indian Army officer. However, he was rejected several times in the SSB (Service Selection Board) selection process. After completing his MA in English, he turned his attention to acting. He graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 2008. His batchmates at FTII included talented actors Vijay Varma, Sunny Hinduja and Rajkummar Rao. Jaideep's acting career started in 2008 with the short film 'Narmeen'. His role in it was quite small. After this, he played roles in Ajay Devgan's 'Aakrosh' and Akshay Kumar's 'Khatta Meetha', Ranbir Kapoor's 'Rockstar' and many other films. After this, he got his first big break in Vidyut Jamwal's 'Commando'. He was liked as the one-eyed villain. 

Worked in these films and shows

However, he got real success after working in OTT shows like 'The Broken News', 'The Bard of Blood', 'Bloody Brothers' and 'Paatal Lok'. Jaideep has always described Irrfan Khan as his inspiration in his interviews. He said that he is like God to him and he not only learns from him but also worships him. At present, Jaideep never got a chance to work with Irrfan. After Irrfan's death, he also went to his house, where he said that he has come here to feel Irrfan. Jaideep is very close to Irrfan's son Babil. Now soon Jaideep is ready to appear in the second season of 'Paatal Lok'. He was last seen in 'Maharaj' and 'Three of Aja' and both were released on OTT. 

Did not get work even after 'Raazi'

Jaideep recently shared his struggles during a tough phase of his career, where he revealed how he did not get work despite receiving critical acclaim for his performance in the film 'Raazi'. The actor said, 'There comes a time when you need to do something and you get a good role. People like it, but still you don't have work. I did not have work after Raazi. And you think, 'What went wrong?' Everyone is praising it. Everyone is talking about the role. The scripts that came to me were almost the same. Everyone wants me to play the role of an IB (Intelligence Bureau) officer and RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) officer, but I did not want to do it. I just did it.' Jaideep was seen with Alia Bhatt in this film.