Jaideep Ahlawat

Jaideep Ahlawat once hoped to join the Indian Army. Instead he found theatre, performing on stage across Punjab and Haryana, and in 2008 enrolled at FTII, the Pune film institute. He was born on 8 February 1980 in Kharkara, a village in Haryana's Rohtak district, and completed an MA in English at Maharshi Dayanand University in 2005. Priyadarshan gave him a negative character for his screen debut, Khatta Meetha (2010), and cast him again in Aakrosh that year. Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) was the turning point. Supporting parts followed in Vishwaroopam and its sequel, Commando: A One Man Army, Gabbar Is Back, Raees and Raazi. Bard of Blood was his streaming debut, and his police officer in Paatal Lok (2020) drew wide praise and won him the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series, one of three Filmfare OTT Awards he holds. Jaane Jaan, Maharaj and Jewel Thief kept him in demand across Hindi cinema and streaming series. This year he played a Pakistani Army brigadier in the war drama Ikkis and appeared in Drishyam: The Conclusion (both 2026). He is also set to feature in King with Shah Rukh Khan.