Panchayat raj continues

Sheetal

There’s always a chance for the viewers to lose interest in a franchise series with each passing season. Thankfully, that’s not the case with the slice-of-life comedy drama ‘Panchayat’. Despite the third season being released after two years, the writer-director duo has given a follow-up plot which dives deeper into village politics. As in the first two seasons, the ‘gaonwasi’ of Phulera and their very own Sachivji (secretary of the gram panchayat) Abhishek Tripathi, played by Jitendra Kumar, deliver an array of emotions in the latest edition.

The season makes you connect dots as it opens with Abhishek being transferred to another village, while the new secretary comes to join in Phulera. The role of MLA Chandrakishore Singh (Pankaj Jha) gets more intense as he involves the usual suspects to regain a semblance of foothold in Phulera’s politics.

Hints of the romance brewing between Abhishek and the Pardhan’s daughter, Rinki (Sanvikaa), keep cropping up every now and then. But it’s interesting how this too moves at the pace of Phulera’s networking: slow and steady. The romantic scenes only add to the plot, instead of acting as a diversion. Full points to writer Chandan Kumar for weaving it so well.

A reluctant secretary at first, Abhishek packs a punch as he admits his fondness for the village and its inhabitants (Rinki included). Then there’s the scene where he tries to forget his differences with an individual he had offended in season one to fight a common enemy, MLA Singh. In fact, it’s rather satisfying to see an otherwise docile Sachivji vent out his anger in the climax.

The standout character though is Prahlad, portrayed by Faisal Malik. He not only matches but even outplays at times his brilliant co-stars as he expresses grief, helplessness and loss of purpose. The scene with the old lady where he bursts out crying for having no family member in a big house speak volumes of his talent.

The ace performers that they are, Neena Gupta and Raghubir Yadav keep up the intensity they displayed in the first two seasons.

The series also wins big in painting the day-to-day affairs of a village in its raw form and even though it has become successful and earned applause, the creators have not forgetten the essence of the show and stick by it.

‘Panchayat’ is a delight to watch. As we reach the climax, writer Chandan Kumar and director Deepak Kumar Mishra give enough hints that more stories will follow.

Watch the series, entertainment is guaranteed!