It was difficult for actor Jitendra Kumar to return to the world of Panchayat for the second season since he wanted to keep the character's rhythm without "overdoing" anything.
Shot in a rural setting, the comedy-drama series, which follows the journey of an engineering graduate in rural India, premiered on May 20 and earned great reviews from critics for its outstanding writing and power-packed performances.
Following the success of the first season, the cast and crew were aware that viewers had high expectations of them, the 31-year-old actor said. “We had to better ourselves. As an actor, when you do a series, it is important to maintain the rhythm and yet not overdo it. It was a task to maintain the rhythm. So, we were relying completely on the writing,” Kumar told PTI in an interview.
Jitendra went back to the first season and rehearsed extensively with the writer, director, and his co-actors in preparation for the second season. “I didn't want to miss the rhythm of the season. Initially, there was a nervousness but within two-three days of commencing shoot for season two, things fell in place,” he added.
The Alwar-born actor plays an engineering graduate and a CAT aspirant who lands in the village owing to a lack of better job opportunities. In real life, Jeetendra is a civil engineering graduate from IIT Kharagpur. He describes his character as someone who is sensitive and a bit selfish.
“He wants to do certain things for himself, like for his career. He doesn't express things all out. In season two, Abhishek is comfortable, he is very much involved with the situation of the village,” Kumar said, clarifying that he is not Abhishek Tripathi in real life.
The actor credits writer Chandan Kumar and director Deepak Kumar Mishra for creating a complex character in Tripathi.
“I don't think any character or film has been made on the lines of Panchayat. I have relied on the writer and director to play this character. They had done the research for the show, so I used all that information for reference. I also saw some YouTube videos of how Panchayat meetings are held and what is the work of a sachiv,” he said.
Created by The Viral Fever, the first season of Panchayat premiered on Amazon Prime Video in April 2020. The show also stars Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, and Chandan Roy among others. The show was praised for its depiction of rural life and its people. Kumar said the team was expecting Season 2 will strike a chord with the audience because it was a well-written story.
“We all thought our writer Chandan has written it better than the first one. So, we were quite hopeful that it will be liked by people, but there was a bit of nervousness. When the trailer came out, we saw the excitement of the audience and the fact that people have not forgotten the first season, which came two years ago,” Kumar added.
According to the actor, the set-up of the show is unlike any other story based in a small town and this particular aspect has appealed to the viewers.
Kumar explained, “The presentation is different from whatever small town stories that we have seen in the last 10-15 years. But what really clicked well with the audience was the halka-phulka (light-hearted) drama of the show.”
Panchayat is set in the little-known, could-be-anywhere village of Phulera and the chores of its ordinary residents. Panchayat's second season feels like a refreshing night breeze flowing through Phulera's lauki fields.
The show is currently streaming on Prime Video.
