Panchayat actor Faisal Malik learned everything about the craft doing spot jobs for production houses

The Amazon Prime Video series, Pachayat has been winning the hearts of the audience since its premiere and it continues to do so with Season 2 as well. Led by Jitendra Kumar, the series also stars Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghuvir Yadav, Saanvika and Faisal Malik, among others. In a recent interview, Faisal, who plays Prahlad in the hit comedy series, talks about how the show, his first acting gig and his journey so far. 

Faisal Malik said his life changed completely after the success of Panchayat and he says he is overwhelmed with the response from the audience. "Frankly speaking, such a response was never expected. It’s magical,” Malik told indianexpress.com. 

Recalling his first acting gig in Anurahg Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur, he said that the actor who was supposed to play the cop Gopal Singh walked out while shooting a scene in a slaughterhouse as he couldn’t tolerate the stench. Faisal Malik, who was working as an assistant director of the two-part crime movie, was then forced by the director Anurag Kashyap to put on the police uniform immediately and complete the scene. Faisal's portrayal of the character became viral and it is because of this performance that he landed the role of Prahlad in Panchayat. The makers told him that they always had him in their minds while writing the show. 

Hailing from Allahabad, Faisal came to Mumbai 20 years ago, as he said, to try his luck at acting. His father had a government job and his mother was a teacher. As he was not very good in studies, he decided to come to Mumbai and get into entertainment industry. "I soon realised more than acting, meeting the basic needs is necessary. So, I started doing odd jobs at production houses. From putting tapes into cameras to managing the floor and other odd jobs, I have done it all," he said adding that whatever he knows today is because of all the knowledge he gathered doing the odd jobs. Today, he produces shows, develops content and takes part in various production activities. "It is all thanks to Anurag Kashyap who made my acting wish come true by allowing me to act in Wasseypur,” he added.

As Faisal has spent a lot of time in villages, he said playing Prahlad in Pachayat was easy but he found it even more challenging in Season 2, especially because of the final episode that left the audience emotional. He said he was nervous when he read the final episode of the new season. "The episode is high on emotion and I am not a great actor. I was not sure if I could bring out such emotion. All eyes were on me," he said. He added that he pulled it off then by thinking about all the trauma he has suffered in his family. "I can’t tell you how difficult it was,” he said. Faisal's father passed away last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

The actor confirmed that Season 3 of the show is in the making. Earlier, Jitendra Kumar had also teased about Season 3 of Panchayat. As you wait for Season 3, binge-watch Panchayat Season 1 and 2 on Amazon Prime Video.