How did Jitendra Kumar become an actor from an IITian?
From Shah Rukh Khan to Ayushmann Khurrana, there are many outsiders in Bollywood, some are ruling the hearts of the people on the basis of their strong acting. Many of these stars are often seen telling the story of their struggle. Some started their career with television and some with small roles in films and today they are ruling the industry. But, do you know about that actor, who, even after studying from IIT Kharagpur, left his high-paying job for acting and made a living by teaching tuition during his struggling days. This actor faced a lot of hardships in the beginning, but now he has become an OTT star.
Strong comeback with Panchayat 3
The actor we are talking about is known more by the name of ‘Secretary Ji’ or ‘Abhishek Tripathi’ than by his real name. Now you must have understood who we are talking about. We are talking about ‘Panchayat’ star Jitendra Kumar, who has once again entered the audience as Secretary Ji.
The family wanted their son to become an engineer
Talking about the personal life of Panchayat 3 Secretary Ji i.e. Jitendra Kumar, the OTT star was born on 1 September 1990 in Khairthal, a small village in Rajasthan. Jitendra loved to imitate stars like Shahrukh Khan, Nana Patekar and Amitabh Bachchan from the beginning. After completing schooling, Jitendra Kumar’s family wanted him to become an engineer. His father sent him to Kota to prepare for IIT. Jitendra was smart in studies from the beginning, so he passed the paper and also got admission in IIT Kharagpur.
The inclination towards acting increased during studies at IIT
While Jitendra was studying civil engineering at IIT Kharagpur, he developed an interest in acting. During this time, he started participating in college theatre. After completing IIT in 2012, he joined TVF as an actor. Although the circumstances were not in his favor initially, he did not lose courage. Jitendra decided to quit his job in a Japanese multinational company in Bangalore to pursue acting. For him, things changed when TVF released a comedy sketch called ‘Munna Jazbaati’. In this sketch, Jitendra was seen playing the role of an over-emotional intern and his video went viral.
Left a high paying job for acting
When Jitendra left his job and reached Mumbai, his real struggle began. The initial days were very difficult for him. To make a living, he started teaching IIT students in a coaching center. Jitendra Kumar himself revealed this in an interview. The actor said- ‘I took out all my IIT JEE notes to teach them and started teaching. I used to study myself so that I could teach students on Sundays. This was a very different experience for me.’
Kota factory gave me recognition
Jitendra Kumar got fame with TVF’s ‘Kota Factory’. In this series, he played the role of Jeetu Bhaiya. After this, he played side roles in series like TVF Pitchers, Bisht, Please! TVF Bachelors, Fathers, Immature and more. Apart from this, he also worked in films like ‘Gone Kesh’, ‘Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan’ and ‘Jadugar’. But, his luck shone in the year 2020 when he got the role of ‘Abhishek Tripathi’ i.e. ‘Secretary ji’ in Amazon Prime Video’s series ‘Panchayat’. Now Jitendra Kumar has returned to the audience with ‘Panchayat 3’.