A still from Panchayat 3. (courtesy: YouTube)
Panchayat 3 is hitting all the right notes with fans. The Prime Video show, which as released on May 28, features Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, and Raghubir Yadav in pivotal roles. Before the third season's release, there were rumours that Jitendra, who plays Abhishek Tripathi aka Sachiv ji, had quit the series due to a tiff with production house TVF. Jitendra has now refuted these rumours, claiming they were entirely false. In a conversation with India Today, the actor said, “There was a lot of panic and I could see that all over social media. The last season ended on Abhishek's transfer and that also spurred the buzz further. There was a misunderstanding, and honestly, main bhi pareshan ho jata tha (I would get troubled) answering the same questions. At one point, I was like aur mat poochon, bandh karo yeh (don't ask about it, end it now).”
Since Jitendra Kumar knew the news was false and he was already preparing for the new season, it didn't affect him much. The rumours were put to rest after the first trailer of Panchayat 3.
Jitendra Kumar said, “Given I have had a long association with TVF, people were worried about what went wrong. I understood it's their love and we just waited for the first trailer to end all speculations."
During the same interaction, Jitendra Kumar also discussed the fanbase he gained through Panchayat, noting that his film Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and the web show were both released around the same time in 2020. “The youth knew me, thanks to all the sketches I have done before. But with the film, the family audience identified me. So, when Panchayat dropped later, there was more curiosity among them. However, yes, it has been a gradual one and growing with every project that I do,” he said.
Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan featured Ayushmann Khurrana and Jitendra Kumar in lead roles.
Panchayat narrates the story of an engineering graduate who becomes a panchayat secretary due to limited job opportunities. After the show's debut in April 2020, the second season was released two years later in 2022. The Prime Video web series, directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, has won several awards including the Best Web Series (OTT) at the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).