Panchayat is one of the most loved shows in India. Actor Saanvika rose to fame with her performance as Rinki in the series. In an interview with Just Too Filmy, Saanvika opened up about initially being uncomfortable with a proposed kissing scene between her character and Sachiv ji (played by Jitendra Kumar). In a candid conversation, she shared how the scene was later altered.
Saanvika recalls refusing to do kissing scene in Panchayat
Revealing if she was nervous about shooting the kissing scene in Panchayat, Saanvika said, “In the beginning, no one said anything when the narration was done. But then, director Akshat talked to me. He said that in this season, we want to have a kissing scene and revealed that they have inserted a scene where Sachiv Ji and Rinki will kiss. Earlier, the scene was different. Both of them are in the car, she falls down, and then they kiss. So I said, give me two days to think whether I am comfortable doing it or not. Then I thought that Panchayat has all kinds of audiences, but mostly family people.”
Saanvika talked about how Jitendra made her comfortable
She added, “I was worried about how people would react, and I was also not comfortable. So I refused at that time. But when we were shooting, they removed that scene, but they inserted the tanki scene. They said that we will not show it in a bad way, and shoot it in an aesthetic way. But when we were shooting, it felt awkward. But Jeetu (Jitendra Kumar) is a very nice person. He makes you feel comfortable. Till now, there has been no talk with the family about this. But they understand me a lot, they will deal with it.”
Set in the fictional village of Phulera, Panchayat follows the life of an urban engineering graduate, Abhishek Tripathi (played by Jitendra Kumar), who takes up a job as the secretary of a rural panchayat office. The series also stars Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Faisal Malik, Chandan Roy, Durgesh Kumar, Sunita Rajwar, and Pankaj Jha in key roles.
While the first three seasons were widely appreciated by audiences and critics, the fourth season received a mixed response upon its release. Some viewers praised its nostalgic tone, while others felt the show had lost its comedic charm and simplicity. In fact, the Panchayat season 4 finale has been rated as the weakest ending in the series so far. The show is available to stream on Prime Video.
