Panchayat Web Series Review: So how much ‘development’ has happened in the country in the last six years, how many villages have become open defecation free, how many houses have got gas instead of stoves and how many women representatives have been accepted by this society and this democracy in the same form in which they were before the seats were reserved in the name of women empowerment? The questions are very serious. But, in the era of quintals and tons, TVF’s new web series Panchayat takes you to a place where even today a yard of cloth is required for worship and where in the wedding procession, puri is still made at the rate of a paseri of flour.
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This is Phulera village, located at a motorcycle distance from Varanasi. A boy, who dreams of becoming a big officer, comes to the village out of compulsion to work as a secretary. After this, the story moves forward bit by bit in eight episodes of 25 to 35 minutes. If you want to guess exactly, you will have to remember the story of open defecation in the village. Because, the Pradhan’s husband and the Deputy Pradhan of this village both enjoy open defecation. The real female Pradhan has 35 years of experience in cooking on the stove and also has the confidence that the food in her kitchen will be good.
Panchayat is the story of Abhishek, who is stuck between preparing for the MBA entrance exam and his job as a secretary in the village panchayat office. Abhishek, who wears a Marco Polo sweater and keeps consulting his friend over the phone, finds the attraction of staying in the village for another year on the water tank in the last scene of the last episode. But, in the meantime, this series sometimes hits hard on the superstition spread by the science teacher in the haunted tree, sometimes on the ego clash over the wheeled chair, and sometimes on the police functioning in the villages on the pretext of monitor theft.
TVF people usually brand some product or the other in their series, here the branding is of India. But this is not the story of Harish Bhimani’s India. Here, people of two generations can become friends and drink beer together and take selfies. A woman from the village can directly rebuke the DM on his way of talking. And, this is the story of that India where a father feels that Akshay Kumar might come to bless him after naming his son Aarav.
Actually, the web series Panchayat is not a story at all. These are stories that have been lost somewhere in the pockets of every person of this country who belongs to the village, who took the path of the city to fill their wallets. Corona has locked everyone in their homes, so the villages are being missed. And, the pain of this memory increases with director Deepak Kumar Mishra’s Panchayat. Mishra ji has organized a strange panchayat. On top of that, Chandan Kumar’s handwriting is also amazing.
Jitendra Kumar got fame after Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, his acting in the web series Panchayat has an effect like Rooh Afza in sugar syrup. Be it the helplessness visible on his face from peeling the gourd to making Maggi, the restlessness of the government servant irritated by the inspector’s interrogation or the preparation to beat up the ruffians who raised their hands on the elderly Pradhan, Jitendra Kumar has explained every story in full, including context. And, the work of decorating the presentation lines with figures of speech and idioms has been done by Chandan Roy who played the role of Vikas and Faisal Malik who played the role of deputy pradhan ‘official’.
Neena Gupta has been so firm on the acting pitch since Badhaai Ho that she is not giving strike to anyone else. But here, instead of Gajraj Rao, Raghuveer Yadav is on the other side. Raghuveer, who taught the basics of acting to many veteran actors, has scored a century here while being at the non-striker’s end. How? For this, you will have to watch this series. There are only eight episodes. Even if you watch them continuously, you can finish them in one go. And, after watching, there will be no regrets, yes, you will definitely wait for the next season with Rinki.
Apart from these regular characters, the actors who came in different episodes have also done a good job, like the inspector who investigates the monitor theft, the master who makes up the story of the banyan tree running after smoking a chillum or Atmaram’s mother. From the technical team, Priyadarshini has kept the costumes absolutely perfect according to the environment. Amitabh Singh has really shown a simple village very beautiful with his camera. Amit Kulkarni’s editing is tight. If Anurag Saikia’s music had a little Uttar Pradesh touch, it would have been better. Yes, abuses have been used in some episodes, so keep your hand on the volume button while watching on a smart TV.
Digital Review: Panchayat (Web Series)
Cast: Raghuveer Yadav, Neena Gupta, Jitendra Kumar, Chandan Roy, Faisal Malik, Pooja Singh etc.
Director: Deepak Kumar Mishra
Creator: TVF
OTT: Prime Video
