For Durgesh Kumar, Panchayat’s Bhushan aka Banrakas, the struggle was real

Kumar, who has been struggling in the Hindi film industry for the last nine years doing small roles in various web series, is on cloud nine after the release of Panchayat 2. “I am actually surprised as my character of Bhushan or Banrakas has become such a hit. In fact, when I was performing I had no idea people would love it so much. I give full credit to the writer and director of Panchayat 2 for creating Banrakas,” said Kumar in an interview with indianexpress.com.

Panchayat Season 2 stars actor Durgesh Kumar as Bhushan aka Banrakas.

Elaborating on the vile nature of Bhushan, who is being widely appreciated by the audience, Kumar laughingly said, “There is a Banrakas hidden in everyone. People don’t bring it out. I was asked to reveal it in front of the camera.”

But the success of Panchayat didn’t come overnight for Kumar as he recounted his days of struggle. Acting was never Kumar’s first choice and he was asked by his family to pursue engineering to lead a stable life. So after finishing school, he came to Delhi to get admission to an engineering college in 2001 but couldn’t.

“It was during that time my elder brother suggested that I do theatre for my personality development. I followed it and started doing theatre at Sri Ram Centre of Performing Art and started enjoying it. Simultaneously, I did Hindi (Hons) from Ignou. After that, I made it to the National School of Drama and then joined a few repertoire companies. It was through these repertoires I got a chance to work with Imtiaz Ali in his 2014 film Highway,” recalls Kumar.

However, despite critical appreciation for Highway, not many roles came Kumar’s way and surviving in Mumbai became difficult for him. “After Highway, I did a few web series like Candy, Bichho Ka Khel, Candy, Bhaut Hua Samman, but I still had to go for an audition. I was never directly offered the role. I also faced multiple rejections which was quite frustrating. But then the struggle never ends for an actor,” said the 38-year-old actor.

 

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“When you regularly get roles, it is easy to survive for an actor in a big city like Mumbai. But it becomes very difficult if it stops coming. My family supported me a lot during the difficult time. Besides, I had to do some odd jobs also,” said the actor.

After a cameo in the first season of Panchayat, Kumar had no idea that the second season of the show was in the making. “I only had a one day shoot for season 1. But the casting director called me while it was conceptualised and told me that the length of my character has been increased. This time I shot for 20 days. The location was Mahodiya village in Madhya Pradesh”.

Applauding the makers of Panchayat and the TVF team, Kumar said, “I am very thankful to the casting director of Panchayat Anmol Ahuja for having faith in me. Also, I would like to thank the whole TVF team which is too professional. It’s a team of sharp minds. They know Indian roots very well and the best thing about them is that they don’t get trapped in star culture. They always do the right casting”.

The actor will be seen next in Red Chilli’s Bhakshak and Ittu Si Baat, which is releasing on June 17.