Panchayat actor Durgesh Kumar says big production houses are not casting him

Actor Durgesh Kumar is popularly known for his role in the Panchayat series as Banrakas. His lines like “Dekh raha hai Binod” and “Allhua meeting” went viral, putting him on the pop culture map. However, his success was not overnight. Durgesh Kumar has been an actor for more than a decade, spending 12 years honing his craft in Delhi theatre. Despite his recent fame with Panchayat and Laapataa Ladies, he is still unable to figure out how the industry functions.

Don`t understand how people are cast

Speaking to Mid-Day, Kumar elaborated, “I don’t know how this industry works. I keep working, but no big production houses are showing much interest in casting me. But if you look at YouTube, my videos have more views than Amitabh Bachchan`s. Mine has over 5 million; his has 1.5 million. I am proud of this fact and not saying it egoistically. But after working so much, it does make you wonder how the industry works. I trained in Delhi theatre for 12 years, so I don’t understand how people are selected.”

Durgesh Kumar, who made his commercial acting debut with Imtiaz Ali’s Highway, gained recognition for his work in the TVF series Panchayat. “It was while working on the second season that I realised that if you work hard in Bombay, you get recognition. I worked 20 days on Season 2, and my line ‘Dekh raha hai Binod’ went viral. My work was appreciated. It was fun working on the show. Producer Vijay Koshi would call me and tell me what and how to do. I have been friends with my co-actors Ashok Pathak (Vinod) and Bullu Kumar (Madhav) since our theatre days. Honestly, we were not acting but living our characters.”

Durgesh Kumar on battling depression

Kumar has also been quite open about his battle with depression, which he faced even while working on Panchayat. “My father had a brain hemorrhage. That was the first time in my life that I felt, what if my father is not around? He has recovered now, but that feeling pushed me into depression. However, that phase also worked in favor of my character. Many times, we think something bad is happening to us, but these things happen for a reason. I take it positively. But depression happens, and many people are facing it.”

The actor is glad that celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Honey Singh are vocal about mental health issues and are bringing them to the forefront. He added that he sees many artists in Mumbai who are struggling and often dealing with mental health challenges in the process.