Panchayat Review

Effortless and simplistic, ‘Panchayat’ is a refreshing take on “struggles” of a modest rural life. We get to experience the seemingly unexciting yet vivid everyday lives of people occupying ‘Phulera’ (a small village outside of Uttar Pradesh) through our hero of sorts – Abhishek, who has landed the job of panchayat secretary of the village.

Abhishek (Jitendra Kumar) is someone we can instantly resonate with; he is stuck in a job that he never quite wanted. As he begins making peace with his strange new environment, we see him flounder, whine and fail much like we (people accustomed to big cities) would if we were in his shoes.

Beside Abhishek’s, we also get closely acquainted with lives of many peculiar yet affable locals of the village, like - Brij Bhushan (Raghuvir Yadav), the kind-hearted Panchayat Pradhan; Vikas (Chandan Roy), the easy going Gram Sahayak; Prahalad (Faisal Malik), the loyal deputy Pradahan; and finally Manju (Neena Gupta), the domineering, practical wife of Pradhan.

The best part of the show is that it is neither preachy nor a mockery of the rural life. It is in fact an insightful and witty conceptualization of what a typical day in life of a rural Indian looks like. The writing is sharp, tactful and manages to subtly comment on a wide gamut of social issues as well.

With brilliant performances, tasteful humor and a comforting aura about it, the show will easily give you a run for your money.