Neena Gupta-Sunita Rajwar on their off-screen friendship: We met in theatre and became friends

They may be pitted against each other in “Panchayat” as political rivals Manju Devi and Kranti Devi but in real life, Neena Gupta and Sunita Rajwar enjoy a great friendship that goes back to their theatre days. The two have worked together on the 2020 film, “Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan”, and the Prime Video series, “Panchayat”.

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“We met in the theatre, we did a play together. We kept working together, and when we do a show, we get a lot of time for rehearsals. We have been friends for many years, and we occasionally meet over food or just like that,” Gupta told PTI in an interview.

“When I found out that Sunita was also there (in the show), I was very happy because after the shoot, she came to my room in the evening, we cooked together, sometimes, she brought food. So, I got a good company, a good friend,” she said.

Rajwar said whenever she gets an offer, and if she is confused about it, she seeks Gupta’s guidance.

Both Gupta and Rajwar had auditioned for “Panchayat” and the globally acclaimed movie “Santosh”. Gupta secured the role of Manju Devi in “Panchayat”, while Rajwar was cast as Geeta Sharma in “Santosh”.

“It happened during ‘Panchayat’, where she had auditioned for my role of ‘Manju Devi’, then there is a film, ‘Santosh’, for which I had also auditioned for her role,” Gupta said.

“Whenever we do a new project, we both know about it, so it isn’t an on-set surprise,” Rajwar said, adding, “We are friends universally.”

Created by Deepak Kumar Mishra and Chandan Kumar, “Panchayat” revolves around Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar), an engineering graduate who, for lack of a better job, joins as secretary of a panchayat office in a fictional village named Phulera in Uttar Pradesh.

Gupta plays Manju, the elected village head (President of Gram Panchayat), while Rajwar plays Kranti, her rival. The fourth season promises to escalate the rivalry as both characters vie for supremacy in Phulera.

Rajwar said she admires Gupta as an actor, particularly her work in “Woh Chokri”, for which the received the National Award, and the popular TV show, “Khandan”.

“The way she carries herself, how outspoken she is, and how clean she is, is what I admire about her. Apart from ‘Panchayat’, I’ve been with her a lot, so I know her very well.” Gupta praised Rajwar’s commitment towards acting.

“When a person is good in real life, then that goodness is reflected in their work. Sunita is very helpful. She gets immersed in her roles... I really admire her,” she said, adding, she has unfortunately not seen Rajwar’s work in “Gullak” and “Santosh”.

Co-star and lead actor Jitendra Kumar, who plays Abhishek Tripathi or ‘Sachivji’ in the show, expressed his joy at the tremendous love and appreciation the series has received over its three seasons.

“’Panchayat’ is a well-written show, there is simplicity, authenticity, but I was not sure how many people would click on it and watch it. But it exploded (in a big way), and many people saw it, and we got so much love from people. I never thought this would happen.”

“Although I knew that it was a very different kind of story from the stories that were being told at that time. But we didn’t predict that it would get this level of result or response.”

“Panchayat 4” is scheduled to be released on June 24.