Panchayat Season 3 | Review

Director: Deepak Kumar Mishra
Cast: Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Faisal Malik, Chandan Roy, Sanvikaa & ensemble
Creator: Deepak Kumar Mishra, Chandan Kumar, Arunabh Kumar
Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video
Language: Hindi
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(4/5)

Panchayat Season 3: What’s It About
“Samay se pehle koi kahin nahi jaana chahiye!” That’s how this season of Panchayat begins, and it hits you hard. It strikes a note deep down and tears you apart. The show begins intensely, just as it ended with a whole village coming together after Up-pradhan, Prahlad, loses his son on the battlefield. The slogans of Prahlad’s son, followed by ‘Amar Rahe,’ don’t make you cry but leave you numb.

Grief is more personal than sorrow. Grief makes a home in your heart, while sorrow helps you ease down after a stressful moment. Panchayat Season 3 starts by dealing with grief, showing how a community is helpful and how society’s needs are basic and essential.

Script Analysis:
The P in Panchayat starts with P-hulera village and ends with P-olitics. Everything in between is simplistic yet endearing, making you regret missing any dialogue, moment, scene, or background note. The season starts with Sachiv Ji’s transfer order being issued and canceled. While this takes 15-20 minutes to set the premise, the story kickstarts as soon as he re-enters Phulera. What happens in those first 20 minutes is whistle-worthy, and the setup grabs you in.

The entire season is a makeshift one, taking the simple rooted community’s progress and entering into the complexities of politics. Jitendra Kumar’s Abhishek Tripathi, a CAT aspirant dreaming of IIMs and corporates, gets entangled in these complexities, starting to love them and owning them as if he is a part of Phulera. This is what love does to you, not the ‘Ishq Wala Love’ but the ‘Parivaar Wala Pyaar’ that makes you face a bunch of goons for your people.

The politics in Panchayat Season 3 comes much later, despite hinting at it in the last season. The third season can be divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the emotional front, while the second part speeds up, transitioning from emotions to planning, plotting, and fighting. Do they win? Do they lose? Does the political shift change the show’s dynamics? Watch the season to decode that, and you won’t regret any minute of it! Kudos to director Deepak Kumar Mishra for pulling together such a tight script with many elements for eight long episodes!

Star Performance:
The star of Panchayat is definitely the script, beautifully written by Chandan Kumar. When it comes to the actors’ performances, it would be unfair to credit only a few. The entire ensemble of Panchayat deserves a standing ovation for their effortless portrayals that make you feel like you are already roaming in a village called Phulera, witnessing their daily lives.

Jitendra Kumar is an actor par excellence, and in some parallel world, he is a secretary of some gram Panchayat. Neena Gupta is a legend, and so is Raghubir Yadav. Sanvikaa and Chandan Roy are nailing their roles better than last time, deserving accolades for this leap. Durgesh Kumar as Bhushan and Sunita Rajwar as Kranti Devi are perfect antagonists.

However, this appraisal cannot be completed without mentioning the gem of this season – Faisal Malik. Not just because he lost his son, but because his portrayal of Prahlad doesn’t invoke sympathy or empathy. You want to be around him, give him a hug, and tell him – I know how it feels. His eyes perform more than anything else.

What Works:
If someone asks what I love in Panchayat, it would be difficult to answer. Is it the character arcs, beautifully written by Chandan Kumar and brilliantly put together by director Deepak Kumar Mishra, making them look like a family? Everyone is a hero in their world, and none of them is the main lead, despite Jitendra Kumar leading the clan. Is it the background score by Ishan Das? Or the entire sound team making Phulera more lively, even with the slightest whistle while Sachiv Ji and Rinki try to sit beside each other in a car or Amma trying to get a home in Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna with the naughtiest BGM ever?

The details in Panchayat Season 3 are so endearing that you might not want to, but still, fall for it. Be it the characters wearing the oldest shirts and T-shirts, with one wearing a T-shirt where the R of HILFIGER has worn off, and the little holes are visible. Karishma Vyas’s costume design deserves a thunderous round of cheers!

What Doesn’t Work:
Ideally, there is nothing that turns a sore moment. However, there are times when the show starts to lag, and one might wish Amit Kulkarni’s editing could help pick up the pace. Still, there are so many moments in the next second that you will forget about any complaints!

Last Words:
Panchayat Season 3 starts on an emotional note and ends with a surprise cameo of Saansad Ji, who gives the biggest lesson on politics – “Rajneeti Pahalwaani ki tarah nahi Shatranj ki tarah khela jaata hai.” With this, the show enters the game of chess, not offering a hint about who has finally called for checkmate.

Deepak Kumar Mishra, Chandan Kumar, and Arunabh Kumar have created a masterpiece in Panchayat, and by the time you reach the grand finale of this season, it will make you forget the most iconic cinematic question ever – Katappa Ne Baahubali Ko Kyun Maara!? Watch it for yourself, and you’ll be eager to decode the mystery in the end.

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