Raghubir Yadav is basking in the success of his latest outing Panchayat. The veteran actor plays the role of Pradhan (village head) in the series headlined by Jeetendra Kumar. The actor boasts a successful career of more than four decades and has shared how his role in Panchayat has trumped everything else he has done so far. 

Raghubir Yadav on the success of Panchayat 

Veteran actor Raghubir Yadav says Panchayat has taken his success to the next level with people recognising him as “Pradhan ji” wherever he goes. He told PTI, “As if what I have done in the past is forgotten. I am Pradhan ji,” Yadav, one of the most prominent faces of the parallel cinema and theatre movement whose career arc spans decades and mediums. The adulation after Panchayat, which revolves around the everyday struggles of people in an Uttar Pradesh village and is currently in its third season, also worries him.

The show has reintroduced him to audiences as the beloved and a little befuddled Pradhan ji, always looking to improve the lives of the people of his village. He added, “Everywhere I go, people call me Pradhan ji. Right now, I am shooting in Varanasi and people are wondering what is Pradhan ji doing amongst us.” The 66-year-old acknowledges the enormous success of the OTT show but is also wary of making too much of it in case it affects his performance.

Raghubir Yadav says he is not ‘too happy’ on Panchayat success

In the same conversation, the actor shared, “I will take it in only after there are no more seasons left. Right now, I just worry about the quality of the show. I don’t want to be too happy or sad.” He added, “The characters shown in the series were the kind of people I grew up with or met them during my Parsi theatre days. There was a simplicity and ease to life that is still inherent in our villages. That’s what the series has managed to translate without much artifice.” Panchayat Season 3 is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

(With inputs from PTI)