Durgesh Kumar Aka ‘Banrakas’ Of Panchayat Season 2 Talks About His Struggles & Character

After the immense popularity of his character 'Banrakas' in Panchayat season 2, actor Durgesh Kumar reflected on the making of the series and his journey as an actor.

If you’re an active Indian web series lover, we’re sure Panchayat season 2 must have been a treat for you, just like it was for everyone else who was keenly waiting for the second season. For those who haven’t seen the series yet, the word ‘Banrakas’ might sound alien to you! For the unversed, Banrakas is a character from the web series ‘Panchayat season 2’, this character has made a special place in people’s hearts, with the portrayal of an evil character, in the funniest of ways.

Many aren’t aware that Durgesh Kumar, who essayed the character of ‘Banrakas’ quite effortlessly, has had his own days of struggle and has worked in many web series, as a supporting cast. Talking about the same, he shared, “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, “He further added “There is a Banrakas hidden in everyone. People don’t bring it out. I was asked to reveal it in front of the camera.”

For the unversed, Durgesh Kumar never thought of embarking on his acting journey, he mentioned how it was something that just worked out for him out of the blue. He shared about his family’s aspiration of seeing him pursue an engineering degree and that’s what he did, in the hopes of getting into an engineering college, Kumar went to Delhi in 2001, but couldn’t do it!

“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,” Durgesh Kumar said.

“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 were quite frustrating. But then the struggle never ends for an actor,” he added.

“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,” he also shared how he was even unaware of the second season of Panchayat season 2, which was in the making.

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“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” he 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” he further thanked.

Durgesh Kumar can be next seen in Red Chillies, Bhakshak and Ittu si baat.

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