Jitendra Kumar plays Abhishek, the secretary to the pradhan in Panchayat 2. (Photo: Jitendra/Instagram)As the world grappled with the pandemic, Panchayat, a simple story based in a village, went on to become a sleeper hit. With the show gaining an audience thanks to word of mouth, its actors Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta and Raghuvir Yadav became fan favourites. And now, two years later, the team is back with the second season, which as per Jitendra will offer more “mazedar kisse aur kahaniya”.
In a chat with indianexpress.com, the actor said, “While the feel and vibe of the show remains the same, this time there’s a lot of fun tales to share. Also, the involvement of the panchayat in the village has gone deeper. The script has focused a lot on the working culture. As for the shooting experience, it did take a little effort in the initial days. But, once we were on it, it was all fun. The director and writers were also around to guide us on how things pan out this season. I don’t think we even felt we were coming back after a break. We just took off from where we left.”
Jitendra Kumar’s Kota Factory Season 2 received a lukewarm response. On asked if the pressure to deliver a better season bothers him, he smiled to say, “Honestly, when you are about to start, it does. But once the camera rolls, you are just involved in your character. I think we did take care in terms of a stronger script and the humour element, so we are hoping people will like Panchayat 2. And while on set, the pressure is not there. Once you see how excited people are about the new season, there is a nervousness of the feedback it will receive.”
For the Panchayat team, they knew the show’s strength was its simplicity. Sharing that they knew the show would add freshness and bring a different kind of excitement, Jitendra said that their only worry was how will it reach maximum people. “We knew when people will watch it, they will definitely like it. The story was an amazing one, with a very varied set of actors. The question of it not doing well was never there and thanks to Amazon, it managed to reach a lot of people.”
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Given that OTT has also given actors a platform to showcase their talent, we wondered if it would have been a difficult journey for Jitendra Kumar if OTT hadn’t grown to this level. “Well I haven’t seen that journey, so I cannot comment on it. But yes, I think getting the first break is the toughest. But we have a lot of inspiring examples around us – outsiders who managed to make their mark. I think that gives a lot of hope. However, we cannot deny how important YouTube and other digital platforms became for many actors,” he said.
While Jitendra denies that he is creating a niche for himself by playing ‘real and next-door’ characters, the actor says he has no issue with it. He added that his intention has always been to play ‘atrangi’ and different characters. As readers would know, his performance as a closeted man in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan was much loved. When asked if the film led to good roles, he said, “Of course it has. I am getting very interesting projects, and it’s actually getting difficult for me to choose the best ones. I am happy with the kind of work it has led to.”
But does he feel a producer will back him and cast him in a big film? “They will in time,” he shared.
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Just like his character Abhishek in Panchayat, Jitendra Kumar too had a tough time finding his calling. In a shocking move, Jitendra decided to leave his IIT degree behind and pick up acting as a profession. While the actor agrees it wasn’t easy to convince his parents, he always knew he wasn’t a good engineer. “I was always confused about where will I end up eventually. With my parents, I think I managed to cajole them by saying how I wanted to go to acting school and train myself. Thinking it’s a proper three-year course, with learnings, they agreed. Only after I reached Mumbai did things start to click, and that’s how I found my calling.”
On a final note, Jitendra heaped compliments on his Panchayat co-stars Neena Gupta and Raghuvir Yadav, saying they were a driving force on set. “It’s a learning to be around them. The kind of excitement and energy they bring in, it’s commendable. I think that keeps an actor alive, and we got to learn that from them,” the actor concluded.
Panchayat Season 2 is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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