Panchayat Actor Reveals Village Caste Divide

Vinod Suryavanshi, recognized for his role as the new Sachiv Ji in the popular series Panchayat, has recently detailed his distressing encounters with casteism in his native village in Karnataka. He recounted the harsh realities of caste discrimination, stating that areas for upper and lower castes remain distinct, with Dalits living separately from the main village.

Suryavanshi shared a personal account from his childhood, where at age 12, he had to wash his own plates after eating at a hotel and was still not allowed to enter a local temple. Beyond caste, he also experienced rejection in the acting industry due to his skin color and looks, often failing auditions for roles demanding a 'rich look' or fairer complexion, even for a beggar's role.

The actor also shed light on his challenging upbringing, marked by his mother working as a domestic helper and his father, a mason, facing unemployment and alcohol abuse, leading to domestic violence. This difficult childhood environment profoundly impacted him.