"We were called foolish to be shutting down 'Saans' when it was doing so well," - Neena Gupta

Perhaps one of the quickest returns, Panchayat is returning with Season 4 as this time, it is all about the political battle between Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) and Kranti Devi (Sunita Rajwar) amidst the many other things.

We sat down for an exclusive conversation with the team that consisted of Neena Gupta, Jitendra Kumar, Sunita Rajwar, creator-writer Chandan Kumar and director Akshat Vijaywargiya.

In one of the excerpts, we asked about how a show's return with a new season is also looked upon with wonder and a question mark, as to if the time is up and now it is being stretched based on the show's popularity.

To this, Neena Gupta had a rather interesting take and shared an anecdote about her iconic show from the 90s, Saans.

She said, "When I made Saans, it was the number one show at that time. But we had a lot of weeklies, so it used to be a good weekly. So when our three-weekly ran for three years, we finished the story. But everyone told us, “You are crazy, you’re finishing the story? It’s going so well, you’re getting money, everyone’s getting work.” But we didn’t have any story left to tell, so we finished it."

She further added, "It’s very important — when your story is over, you stop. Like they’re saying, when they have a story, they’ll keep going. Of course, people thought we were foolish — that it was going so well and we should bring the story from somewhere. But it doesn’t work like that. And if we hadn’t ended it when we did, its effect would’ve faded. But because we left it at the right time, people still remember it."

People thought we were foolish — that it was going so well and we should bring the story from somewhere. But it doesn’t work like that.

- Neena Gupta, on ending her iconic show, 'Saans'

Full interview here-

In another fun instance, we asked Neena Gupta to swap roles and hypothetically, if Manju Devi was in Neena ji's place and if she was working in some Instagram University — let’s say she got transferred, she got orders that she has to go there — and there, you know, nowadays, some emerging star kid, some influencer, they have to be made to understand that they just have to be relevant. Then they... whether it is through a post, whether it is through their career or their portfolio... then what kind of teaching will she give to them?

Neena Gupta: Okay, so I will say, Manju Devi right now? Yes. See, it is like this — that first of all, your most important work is your home. We are in your home. If you are happy, you will be happy. Then, the most... pay more attention to your home. Home... children... tomorrow all work will be done, everything will be over. Who will come? Who will be useful to you? Your family. With whom will your children play? Who will take care of you? Your children will take the most care. Whether you go to Instagram or something... wherever you go, the most important thing you have to take care of is your family. Because ultimately, I can say now... ultimately... absolutely, ultimately, only they will be useful to you (laughs).

Panchayat Season 4 begins streaming on Amazon Prime Video June 24, 2025 onwards. The show has been one of the most-loved shows on OTT in the last five years and has managed to rake in big numbers consistently. It is also one of the rare OTT shows in India that has managed to have a fourth consecutive season, and that too in a meagre period of five years. What began as a tale of about an engineering graduate getting a job in a small village much to his chagrin has gone to become a tale about friendships, love, humanity and now, political battles between two prominent figures of the village.