Panchayat is ruling hearts and how! This TVF show has won our hearts over the years and is currently streaming its third season. It can be called a rare occurrence but almost every character from the show enjoys an equal fan base and it is a victory for all the brilliant stars who have been waiting for a long time to get their due.
Among many, veteran actress Neena Gupta is also in the news, who plays Manju Devi in the series. But did you know that someone else was earlier roped in for this iconic role?
Who was the first actress to be cast for the role of Manju Devi in Panchayat?
Veteran actress Sunita Rajwar, who played Kranti Devi in the second season of Panchayat, was the makers’ first shortlisted artist for the role. During her appearance on a recent episode of Digital Commentary, Sunita herself revealed that she had auditioned for the role and was also shortlisted.
“I was very happy because when I was told about the outline of the show and that I will be acting with Raghubir (Yadav) sir, it was a kind of greed for me because Raghubir sir is my senior and is a wonderful actor and human being both,” she said in Hindi.
She later recalled meeting her ‘friend’ Neena Gupta at her home, where the Vadh actress asked Sunita about the work culture at TVF. When the Gullak actress told Neena that everything had been great with her, she was shocked to know that Neena had been offered the same role earlier in discussions with Sunita.
“When I spoke to the casting people about it, they said things were still in process, but ultimately Neena played the role,” Rajwar said.
After the release of Panchayat Season 1, Sunita asked the makers what went wrong. She said that initially she did not know if Neena would agree to do this role or not because she was a big name and unlike everyone else, they also wanted to bring big names and best actors for this role.
“We took a chance with her and it worked,” he told Sunita. However, they soon approached Rajwar for the role of Kranti Devi and it was like ‘icing on the cake’ for them.
