Excited to step out of my comfort zone: Jitendra Kumar on 'Bhagwat Chapter 1: Raakshas' role

"Panchayat" star Jitendra Kumar says his role of a college professor with secrets in the upcoming crime thriller "Bhagwat Chapter One: Raakshas" is unlike anything he has ever done before and it gave him an opportunity to step out of his comfort zone.

The movie juxtaposes Jitendra's charming college professor Sameer opposite Arshad Warsi's inspector Vishwas Bhagwat, who is investigating the disappearance of many young women. The ZEE5 original movie is directed by Akshay Shere.

Jitendra, 35, who rose to prominence as Jeetu Bhaiya in "Kota Factory" and features as Sachiv ji in popular series "Panchayat" and has done films such as "Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan", "Jaadugar" and "Dry Day", said the film was challenging. "I was very excited to step out of my comfort zone... I found the role quite challenging as I have never done anything like this before. I was uncertain as to how I will pull it off. But with each challenge there was a different level of excitement that I felt," Jitendra told PTI in an interview.

"I really wanted to do a crime-thriller and a character with so many different shades. The dynamic between our two characters (Bhagwat and Sameer) and how their lives intertwine intrigued me." The actor said it was inspiring to work with Warsi, who tried to take everyone along on the sets.

"The way Arshad sir conducts himself on the set is really interesting. He is very chill otherwise but every time he had a scene, he would transition seamlessly. The way he gets into his character smoothly was something I enjoyed observing and our set was very collaborative. We had many discussions over each scene... We always found a midpoint and took in everyone's ideas." Jitendra has done movies and shows but he is most popular for his role in Prime Video series "Panchayat", where he plays an engineering graduate who lands in a village on a government role. The actor said he was initially scared that he will get typecast but that hasn't happened so far.

"It's a different challenge to play those similar characters so differently where you have to be versatile in your performance. I haven't felt like I am being typecast yet, but if the time comes, I will explore different genres and characters like I did with 'Bhagwat'." Since the story is rooted in a real life incident, the actor said he tried to portray the character with honesty and without judging him.

"I had a lot of fun with this story. There was some uncertainty as to whether I would be able to show all these complex shades and layers with conviction or not. But I made it a point to not judge my character and what he is doing. I believe creative people should not be judgemental at all and bring sincerity to each character they play," he said.

"Bhagwat Chapter 1: Raakshas", produced by Jio Studios in association with Baweja Studios and Dog n Bone Pictures, will premiere digitally on October 17 on ZEE5. The film also features Ayesha Kaduskar, Hemant Saini, and Tara-Alisha Berry.