Special Feature: When ‘Panchayat’s Pradhan-Pati Raghubir Yadav Used to Ride Buffaloes in Village Ponds

By Sharad Rai

Back then, I was in Jabalpur — a city I still love dearly because many of my friends from my youth still live there. One such day, a few of us journalist friends were sitting in the office of the Nai Duniya Hindi daily, when the news flashed on TV: “Raghubir Yadav wins Best Actor at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held in Delhi.”

Raghubir Returns to Ranjhi, Skips Ceremony Quietly

One of the senior journalist friends present, Gambhir Srivastava, contacted Raghubir’s family and found out that he had already returned to his hometown Ranjhi in Jabalpur after skipping the ceremony. Without wasting time, Gambhir and I went straight to Raghubir's house in Ranjhi.

We found Raghubir sitting on a bare wooden cot. We too found our place on the same cot. His debut film Massey Sahib had just earned him the Best Actor award — so naturally, that was the topic of discussion. Massey Sahib was directed by Pradip Krishen and released in 1986; it was featured at the 1987 IFFI. The film starred Raghubir Yadav in the lead role opposite Arundhati Roy — the same Roy who is now a renowned activist and Booker Prize-winning author. The film also featured Barry John.

But the bigger story wasn’t just the award. What stood out was that Raghubir had returned home after nearly 10–12 years, and people were gathering just to catch a glimpse of him. I remember, for water, we were offered a small bowl with a few pieces of jaggery.

As we talked, Raghubir shared — and others added — tales of his early love for music and drama. His obsession with local musical plays and folk theatre led him to spend most of his time at his aunt’s village, a few kilometers away. As a young boy, he used to herd buffaloes in the village. He recalled how he would push the buffaloes into village ponds and then ride on their backs, wagging their tails to make them charge forward.

After fleeing home and skipping his Class 10 exams, he never returned for years. From his aunt’s house, he once went to watch a nautanki (folk theatre) where he encountered Ranjit Kapoor’s drama troupe. Ranjit Kapoor — now a well-known screenwriter and elder brother of Annu Kapoor — saw something in Raghubir and advised him to join NSD (National School of Drama) in Delhi.

There, he started working with the NSD Repertory Company, performing in plays — and eventually landed his first film, Massey Sahib. But even before he could receive his Best Actor trophy, he packed up his trunk and left for Jabalpur. From the train station, he walked 10 kilometers to his home in Ranjhi — finally fulfilling the vow he had made to himself: “I’ll return home only after becoming someone.” And that day, we were there to witness his return.

...The rest is history! On the work front, Raghubir Yadav’s contributions span films, TV shows, songwriting, composing, and singing. Be it his memorable performance in Mungerilal Ke Haseen Sapne, Salaam Memsaab, or his soulful singing and acting in “"Mehngai Dayain Khaye Jaat Hai",” Raghubir has carved a unique place for himself. His role as the Pradhan-Pati in the hit web series Panchayat — across all its seasons — is so impactful that it needs no introduction.

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