Panchayat Season 3 Review: Still gripping but with a more political twist

TVF seems to have a secret, magic formula for creating shows that feel like a warm hug. The same vague feeling accompanies the third season of Panchayat, TVF’s social comedy series that launched in 2020. The new season features a beautiful script, nuanced performances and, to my surprise, a more realistic portrayal of rural India, surpassing the already high bar set by Panchayat in the previous two seasons. It will make you smile, cry, laugh, contemplate and probably Google the government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana!

What makes this season stand out is that they’re taking off their rose-colored glasses this time. The characters still share a warm camaraderie, but we discover their turbulent individual fates, along with their emotional baggage and crises, making room for a paradigm shift. Political rivalry is intensifying and its consequences are becoming more and more dangerous. Simply put, the third season of Panchayat bursts some shiny bubbles of utopian fantasy and gives an uncompromising confrontation with reality.

Sanvikaa’s storyline has more screen time compared to the previous seasons

We see Prahalad Chacha (Faisal Malik) turn to alcoholism to cope with his grief, Vikas (Chandan Roy) silently endures the fear of financial burden, Abhishek (Jitendra Kumar) tries to shed his obvious attachment to Phulery and Brij Bhushan Dubey (Raghubir Yadav) faces humiliation from all his enemies on the political front and returns home.

At various points in the season you will feel sorry for each of them, but especially for Prahalad, who is clearly devastated by the pain of losing his son. Something about him has changed forever, and Malik’s brilliant performance embodies that loss. In the third episode, there is a scene where he shows someone the disastrous state of their house – full of dirt, empty bottles and scattered dreams – to make them realize how important it is to have a family, after which they both cry in complete silence. The scene was written with sensitivity and is sure to bring tears to your eyes. In a similarly refreshing sequence, he offers a handsome amount to help build a road in Phulera so that Pradhan ji wins the elections and also simply because “what is an aimless man with so much money?”

As the episodes progress, you’ll seriously miss the quartet’s “baithak” sessions when life seemed so much simpler after a few drinks. The emotional beats of the story make just a few of these lighthearted but fulfilling scenes even more impactful than in previous seasons. The series, through the interpersonal relationships of the characters, reminded me of friends with whom I reluctantly lost contact.

This season, we see more of the slowly developing romance between Rinki (Sanvikaa) and Abhishek. There is a lot of talking with the eyes, shy smiling, wordplay and awkwardness. Fortunately, both Jitendra and Sanvikaa gave good performances without resorting to the typical Bollywood melodrama, cheesy dialogues, violins and flowing chiffon saris.

Raghubir Yadav and Neena Gupta have also performed brilliantly this season

Apart from the expected stellar performances by the main cast, what stole the show for me was Jagmohan’s grandmother, played by Abha Sharma. What a delicious performance! Every time he appears on the screen, he brings a bit of refreshment. From her expressive accent and funny expressions to her playful body language, Sharma aced the role brilliantly and managed to capture the essence of a typical ‘dadis’ from Uttar Pradesh.

Over the course of eight episodes, we meet many such colorful characters. Some familiar faces, including the groom from the first season and his ill-mannered friend, also make brief appearances. Despite so many storylines, the series doesn’t feel overdone, and each episode unfolds in the show’s typical slow style.

The creators did an impressive job designing the sets, props and costumes

What I particularly liked was the set design. It is relatively rare for Indian cinema and television to portray rural regions with authenticity. Ordinary performances are often disrupted by a romantic vision of the countryside, full of factual inaccuracies in the name of creative freedom. And yet, the Panchayat not only managed to do this, but even surpassed its previous two seasons in this regard. The showrunners managed to narrow the otherwise large gap between commercial and art cinema. From real household items and everyday items to local brands and snacks served during festivities, Phulera’s creation is impressive. It’s clear that a lot of work has gone into achieving an accurate representation of inland India.

If you watch the show carefully, you’ll even find plenty of visual metaphors and gags. For example, when accusations are thrown at Pradhan ji, you will notice that he loses control of his otherwise friendly buffalo. And Abhishek always spills the tea when things get weird. Or Vidhayak, accused of murdering and then eating a dog (yes, we know it’s gross!), subtly placed paintings and exhibits of camels in his living room.

The best of them is the scene where two angry groups face each other, ready to fight with batons, weapons or anything they can get their hands on. Officers try to calm down the angry crowd. As the situation was about to erupt, a loud phone call, which heard “Sara Jahan Se Achcha”, interrupted the proceedings.

Bhushan is trying to take advantage of the enmity between Pradhan Ji and Vidhayak this season

As much as I enjoyed the series, I’m a little concerned about the slight change in the overall tone of the show, with more political monotony taking center stage this time around. We meet other elected members of the Panchayat; there is a lot of election banter, official meetings and more. Even the infamous gun culture in Uttar Pradesh has taken its toll.

While this change isn’t overly dramatic and doesn’t overshadow the narrative, future seasons could also bring more political drama to the fore, as hinted at in the finale’s cliffhanger. I hope that even if the show takes on a more political tone, the raw emotional appeal and authentic portrayal of diverse human relationships – Panchayat’s strongest suit since its inception – will not be compromised.

All eight episodes of Panchayat are now available to watch on Prime Video.