After Panchayat's success, everyone wants to make 'chhote gaon ki kahaani', says Neena Gupta | Interview

Neena Gupta talks about Panchayat's enduring success, and how it has sparked a wave of similar-feeling stories set in small villages.

Updated on: Jun 25, 2025, 17:59:57 IST

By Abhimanyu Mathur

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The fourth season of Panchayat was released on Amazon Prime Video amid much fanfare this week. As one of the most popular Indian streaming shows currently, Panchayat has a lasting impact on modern pop culture, including several 'copycats', something that even cast member Neena Gupta admits.

Neena Gupta plays a simple rural woman in Amazon Prime Video's Panchayat.

On Panchayat's success

In a chat with Hindustan Times while promoting Panchayat season 4, the veteran actor talks about the show's impact and its footprint on Indian entertainment. Talking about the success Panchayat has enjoyed, Neena says, "I could have never thought this would be so successful. The writing was good, which is why we all said yes to it. The cast was good and I knew many of them. It was fun. But I never imagined it would be such a grand success."

On ‘chhote gaun ki kahaaniyan’

Panchayat focuses on an MBA-aspirant Abhishek (Jitendra Kumar), who is appointed Panchayat Secretary in Phulera, a village in the middle of nowhere. Neena Gupta plays the Panchayat chief Manju Devi in the show. Talking about the growth of rooted stories on streaming, Neena says, "It is a golden phase for actors as well as writers and filmmakers. But now, everyone wants to make chhote gaon ki kahaani (story from a small village). This happens. Whenever something is successful, everyone makes the same thing."

Neena says the entire cast is 'proud' of being in Panchayat. "We are all like a family here. It is an ensemble cast where everyone fits and everyone gets noticed. You can't ask for more from a show," she says.

Panchayat season 4 also stars Raghuvir Yadav, Faisal Malik, Chandan Roy, Sanvikaa, Durgesh Kumar, Sunita Rajwar, Ashok Pathak, and Pankaj Jha. It is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abhimanyu Mathur
Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Film Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world.Read More

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