“Panchayat” is the story of Abhishek Tripathi, an ambitious young man fresh out of college with big dreams. However, he must take a secretarial role for a sarpanch (head of the village) in the remote region of Phulera. The series revolves around Abhishek’s daily struggles adjusting from city living to rural life as he battles power cuts, narrow-minded goons, and rich, spoiled brats. He also must confront various issues prevailing in rural areas such as superstition and other such regressive thoughts and ideas. Abhishek works hard at clinching a job that will pay more than the meagre salary of his current position; he dreams of a life that will take him far away from the mundane village life which he loathes.
Themes from the mundane to the serious
Some episodes of this lovely series centre around petty and mundane topics. One involves the sarpanch (Brij Bushan) growing envious of his secretary’s fancy new swivel chair. In another Abhishek loses a battle with the villagers for a street lamp outside of his window so he can study peacefully at night for his exams. Other episodes delve into broader themes such as the narrow-minded and sexist mindset of politicians. For instance, Bushan takes over the Panchayat position—originally reserved for his wife, Manju Devi—because ‘women aren’t fit for politics’ (this is based on an actual system called the ‘Pradhan Pati’ system).
“Panchayat” also shows the villagers’ superstitious mindset; promising to get rid of a “haunted” banyan tree sways their vote during elections. The banyan tree also becomes an intriguing yet humorous mystery when Abhishek gets involved for his own personal gain.
One episode that stood out for me in particular was when a female sarpanch from the neighbouring village discovers Bushan’s ploy of abusing the Pradhan Pati system. She threatens everybody at the Panchayat with legal action. This could lead to them losing their posts; that is unless Manju Devi (the simple housewife with no interest in politics) steps up to prove her prowess and capability as a leader.
While most of episodes deal with characters’ problems in a light-hearted manner, this episode has the most tense, nail-biting climax. “Panchayat” also features the second-best training montage since “Rocky.” In a pivotal scene, Abhishek trains the frustrated Manju Devi to sing the National Anthem for the Republic Day celebrations in the village. It is a hoot to watch both the teacher and the student grow more and more frustrated with each verse.
Performances that do the writing justice
It would be hard to single out any specific performance of “Panchayat” as the best, as they are all impeccable. Jitendra Kumar (as Abishek), Neena Gupta (as Manju), and Raghubir Yadav (as the scheming Bhushan), all deliver natural, believable performances. They immerse themselves into the characters and bring the viewers into the world they belong to as well. Chandan Roy (as Vikas, the office assistant) instantly brings a smile to my face with his antics. It also helps that the cast has a strong comic timing which helps do justice to the writing.
Since I hail from a small village myself, I love the atmosphere that was created during the show, and the simplistic setting and storytelling of the series. I can’t wait for season 2!
