Jaideep Ahlawat wants no more cop roles after Drishyam

Jaideep Ahlawat is enjoying the afterglow of Drishyam: The Conclusion, but he is not interested in letting a blockbuster turn him into Bollywood’s go-to man in uniform. The actor, who plays Rajveer Singh Tomar in the film, has made one request to the industry: send him roles that challenge him, not another cop character.

What he wants after the blockbuster

Speaking with Variety India, Ahlawat said he does not know exactly how the film’s success will change his career, but he hopes the change is positive. His ask is direct: “I hope I’m not asked to play cop roles over and over again.”

His wish list is simple:

• Challenging roles that test him
• Substantial characters with real weight
• Strong screenplays that carry the film
• No more cop uniforms for a while

The role he said yes to in a hurry

For Drishyam: The Conclusion, the decision was creatively easy. Ahlawat said the only real hurdle was his schedule; he wasn’t sure how he would fit the film in. Eventually he and the producers worked it out, and he now calls it a wise decision. “Role-wise, it was so powerfully written. It didn’t take much time to say yes to that, creatively,” he said.

That matters because Ahlawat has already given audiences a beloved cop in Paatal Lok’s Hathi Ram. Another uniform, even in a hit, can start to look like a pattern.

Ajay Devgn and the art of taking a backseat

Ahlawat also addressed the unusual sight of Ajay Devgn stepping back to let him hold the screen in key sequences. The script needed Vijay Salgaonkar to feel genuinely threatened by Rajveer Singh Tomar before he takes drastic action to protect his family. “Yes, he understood the requirements of the duel between us, the need of the script,” Ahlawat said. He added that Devgn’s move was unusual but true to the story.

Why the no-more-cops line matters

Hindi cinema has a habit of turning a successful performance into a template. A cop who lands well gets more cop scripts; a villain who clicks gets more villain roles. Ahlawat’s request matters because he is using his leverage at the right moment, before the template hardens. It is also a sign of what he wants from the next phase of his career.

The next test: King with Shah Rukh Khan

Ahlawat confirmed that his next release is King, starring Shah Rukh Khan, and that it is scheduled for this year. He has no other releases lined up.

For fans, the real question is not whether Ahlawat can deliver—it is whether the industry will listen when an actor asks for range. A blockbuster can open doors; the casting calls that follow show which doors actually opened.

Source: The Times of India