Twitter thinks Jitendra Kumar’s Panchayat is inspired by Shah Rukh Khan’s 1989 film Umeed, calls his old video ‘déjà vu’

Before he became a big movie star, Shah Rukh Khan was known for his popular roles on television shows such as Fauji and Cirkus. The actor even appeared in the series Wagle Ki Duniya. But another old TV appearance has resurfaced on Twitter as fans remarked that the Prime Video web series Panchayat is quite similar to the 1989 TV film Umeed featuring Shah Rukh. Many fans on Twitter also shared that Umeed was pure ‘nostalgia’ and a ‘hidden gem’ as they discovered the actor’s early filmography. (Also read: Chandan Kumar: Makers approach me asking — kuch Panchayat jaisa hai kya?’)

A Twitter user shared an edited clip from Doordarshan’s Umeed and wrote, “Shah Rukh Khan (SRK) featured in a film Umeed (1989) before he became famous. SRK played a banker struggling to get settled in a village after his transfer there as a manager. Web show Panchayat gave us a déjà vu of this plot. Can you draw parallels?” In the clip, a dishevelled Shah Rukh plays a young bank employee Anand Gupta trying to find his new post. It’s located out in the middle of nowhere, with none of the urban perks. As he get introduced to the basic layout, he has to figure out a plan forward.

Fans also felt Panchayat may have borrowed from Umeed. One Twitter user wrote, “Reminds me a bit of the Panchayat series of amazon prime.” Another added, “When I saw panchayat I immediately connect it to this show. I thought I was the only one, glad to know I have company.” Yet another shared, “What fun to watch this… Simple times, simple storytelling, simple @iamsrk.”

Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra also shared the clip and added, “Umeed is by Saeed Mirza, Aziz Mirza and Kundan Shah.” Both filmmakers had major influences on the actor’s career. Aziz later made the films Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman, Yes Boss, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Chalte Chalte with Shah Rukh. Kundan made Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa with Shah Rukh.

The award-winning series Panchayat has also been praised for similar storylines as actor Jitendra Kumar plays a recent engineering graduate Abhishek Tripathi who is stationed as secretary of a Gram panchayat in Phulera, Uttar Pradesh. Created by The Viral Fever, the series also stars Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Faisal Malik and Chandan Roy as members of the village who help out Abhishek as he tries to handle his responsibilities and adjust to rural life.