Actor Saanvika, who won hearts as Rinki in the hit series Panchayat, has opened up about her hesitation around a kissing scene that was initially scripted for her and co-star Jitendra Kumar. In a chat with Just Too Filmy, she recalled feeling uncomfortable with the idea and how the makers eventually altered the sequence to make her feel at ease.

Saanvika declined the original kissing scene

Speaking about the situation, Saanvika revealed that during the initial narration, no mention was made of a kissing scene. “Later, director Akshat came to me and said that for this season, there’s a plan to show a kiss between Rinki and Sachiv Ji. Earlier, the scene was different—she falls in the car, and then they kiss. So I asked for two days to think about whether I was comfortable with it,” she said.

Saanvika explained that she considered the audience demographic before making her decision. “Panchayat is mostly watched by families, and I wasn’t sure how they’d take it. I wasn’t comfortable either, so I eventually refused.”

Tanki scene replaced it, but the awkwardness remained

Instead of the original sequence, the creators replaced it with a scene on the water tank (“tanki”), which was shot with a more aesthetic approach. Even so, Saanvika admitted it wasn’t an easy scene to shoot. “They assured me it would be done tastefully. But yes, during the shoot, it felt awkward,” she said, adding, “Jeetu (Jitendra Kumar) is a great co-actor. He really helped make the atmosphere comfortable.”

She also mentioned that while the scene hasn’t been discussed at length with her family, she believes they’ll be understanding if it comes up. “They’ve always supported me.”

About Panchayat Season 4

Panchayat is set in the fictional village of Phulera and follows Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar), an engineering graduate who becomes the secretary of a rural panchayat office. The ensemble cast includes Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Faisal Malik, Chandan Roy, Durgesh Kumar, Sunita Rajwar, and Pankaj Jha.

While the first three seasons were widely loved for their humour and authenticity, Season 4 has seen a more divided response. Many fans appreciated its emotional depth and nostalgic tone, but others felt it lost the simplicity and charm that defined the earlier seasons. The season finale, in particular, has been rated as the weakest one yet.

Panchayat Season 4 is now streaming on Prime Video.