Exclusive! Jitendra Kumar says had Panchayat 2 been a TV show, it would have received same amount of love due to its content

Jitendra Kumar has received great responses and praise for his stint in Panchayat 2. The actor is quite famous due to his other OTT shows such as Kota Factory and Pitchers, however, he gained great recognition after his Bollywood debut in Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan.

Meanwhile, apart from the famous actor, Chandan Roy is another actor in Prime Video's latest show, who has received praise for his performance too. In a candid chat with OTTplay, both the actors shared their experience of working in the series and also talked about their upcoming releases and more. Excerpts:

Speaking about how his character Abhishek Tripathi has evolved from the last season till now, Jitendra mentioned that as it's a continuation of the same story, he is now more into his work and solving more issues for the people of Phulera.

Chandan hail from a village in Bihar, when asked if his native language and accent helped him to prepare for the character he mentioned that it was not as easy as it looks because being from one place and acting like a person from that place are two different things. Being Vikas was a little difficult as he has his own aura and I had to become that person, however, in terms of language and speaking style, it was easy for me.

Along with some famous OTT shows such as Kota Factory, Pitchers and more, Jitendra has done films too like Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan with Ayushmann Khurrana. When asked which medium he prefers more and what are the difference he finds in both of them, the 31-year-old actor said that the experience of watching a film in theatres is different from that of OTT. These are different moods! 

"Meanwhile, when you're acting and when you're writing for a scene, that doesn't change much. Being an actor or writer, you need to focus on how to entertain your audience. Once the camera is on and the actor needs to deliver a dialogue it doesn't matter if it's for a film or a web show. For me the experience of working both of them are the same," the actor added.

Sharing his point of view on how people connected with Panchayat and loved it, Jitendra said that it's because of the writing. I think the content is really appealing. If you go and watch this show once, you'll realise that it's nicely done by the creators and the performance of all the actors. 

When asked if Chandan finds himself one of the lucky ones as he forayed into the OTT space when it was at its peak, the 26-year-old actor mentioned that he does find himself as one of the lucky ones. "It felt like I was found everything on a silver platter. Within two years of coming into the industry, I started finding work. Jeetu Sir are one of those who took the OTT space to such a huge level and now the beginners like us are getting the benefits of that. I am really thankful to TVF and Jeetu Bhaiya," he added.

 Reportedly, the makers of Panchayat have revealed that they are taking the show till season five. When asked if Jitendra's character will ever be able to crack the competitive exam and leave Phulera, the Chaman Bahaar actor replied that he's not sure how the writers have planned it but he is excited to know what Abhishek is up to.

After slaying in multiple OTT shows Jitendra received immense praise, however, after his Bollywood debut in Shubh Mangal Zyada Savdhan, he gained even more recognition in the country. When asked how life has changed after that, he replied, "Before the film whatever I was doing was more youth-oriented, however, the reach of cinemas goes to the common families of the country and I was seen and recognised by various age groups. People texted me that their parents have watched it and loved it. So the recognition I have gained from the film is great."

When asked if the success of the Panchayat franchise would have been the same if it would have been a television show, the Gone Kesh actor mentioned that it is possible that the series would have done as well on TV as it did on OTT because of the type of content it offers. "It might have taken a tad bit of extra time than the digital streamer but would have been well received. However, the reach of Prime Video is much more and to other countries as well, so we are really thankful that we were given the opportunity to showcase our work on such a huge platform," he added.

Speaking of the upcoming projects Chandan went first and said that a few shows and films such as Mrs Saxena, Gulmohar and others are lined up for him this year.

Meanwhile, talking about his anticipated ventures, Jitendra reveals that he is all set to begin the shoot of Pitchers 2 after a few weeks, while Kota Factory season 3 is also in the works. Apart from that, he mentioned that he will soon be seen in a few films.