'Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’, ‘Panchayat’ introduced me to family audience: Jitendra Kumar

Actor Jitendra Kumar says he now feels responsible towards the family audience who were introduced to him through the film “Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan” and Amazon Original series “Panchayat”.

The 31-year-old actor made a name for himself with web shows “Pitchers”, “Permanent Roommates” and “Kota Factory” from The Viral Fever (TVF). But it was same-sex romance drama “Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan”, opposite Ayushmann Khurrana, and Prime Video’s comedy series “Panchayat” that changed things for Kumar.

”The responsibility is indeed more today on me. I don’t want to let them (audience) down. I feel responsible that whatever scripts I choose I should do full justice to it. If you are honest as an actor then the audience connects to what you do on screen,” Kumar told PTI in a zoom interview.

”When I was doing web-shows, it was the youth, who were watching my work. I got introduced as an actor to the family audience with ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ and ‘Panchayat’, both these projects reached a wide audience. Things changed overnight,” he said.

Kumar said he will continue to keep working hard at bettering himself as an actor with each project.

”It happens (after achieving success) that not many people around you stay truthful with you in terms of the work that you do. So you should always be honest with yourself and keep working hard.

”Because if you follow these two things you will surely continue to receive love. If you don’t follow these things, you will fail because it will reflect on screen that you are not honest.” Kumar is now back with the second season of “Panchayat”, which features him as Abhishek Tripathi, an engineering graduate who for the lack of a better job option, joins as secretary of a panchayat office in a remote village named Phulera in Uttar Pradesh.

”The basic feel and simplicity of the show remains the same. Season two will have a lot of exciting things,” he said.

Kumar, who was born in Alwar, Rajasthan, said the small-town setup of “Panchayat” may look easy to shoot but it turned out to be a challenging show.

”It is a simple story with simple scenes but it was difficult to catch the behaviour, mannerisms, and all of it for the character. Since, Raghu sir (Raghubir Yadav) and Chandan (Roy) have lived in a village, they were familiar with the set up.

”I come from a small town and I have seen that life but not experienced it. So, it was a task to bring that element on screen,” he added.

The series also features Chandan Roy, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Faisal Malik, and Sanvikaa.

Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra and written by Chandan Kumar, the second season of “Panchayat” will stream on Prime Video from Friday.