Panchayat takes us on a journey into the village life of
India from the perspective of a city bred young man. Panchayat introduces us to
Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar) who is an Engineering graduate and fails to
get a placement in any company after passing out. So he decides to take up the
job as the secretary of Panchayat office in the remote village Phulera, Uttar
Pradesh. He joins the job with the sole motivation to prepare for the MBA
admission test CAT. The show highlights how Abhishek is a person who has his
own self-interest in place with no intention or motivation to bring about any
changes or development to the village. Abhishek goes through numerous trials
and tribulations during his stay in the village. Every episode in the series
presents Abhishek with a new set of challenges related to village life and his
job and he has to find ways to survive them. In the beginning Abhishek detests everything about his new job but over
the time he begins to develop a relation with the villagers and the village.
Each episode in the series highlights a certain issue that
is prevalent in the villages of India in a humorous way.
The show highlights how people living in the city have such
limited knowledge of life in the villages of India. It also highlights the
stark difference between lifestyles in the city and villages. The show
highlights the various underlying issues still prevalent in the villages of
India in a very witty and humorous manner. Issues such as secondary status
given to women, concept of dowry, belief in superstitions, and ignorance about
birth control have been shown in a very witty manner. It also shows how the
government is taking various steps to bring about changes in the system and
address these issues but the people in the villages are rigid to change because
of their ignorance and lack of education. In the beginning a complete
disconnect is shown between Abhishek and the villagers but over the time he
understands the people better and begins to develop a connection with them.
The script by Chandan Kumar is the star of the show. It is
light and funny but puts across the message to the viewers. The humor in the
show is situational and it brings out the comedy through the realities of life.
It falters a little in a few episodes but overall the story touches your heart
and creates an unique connection with our rural India and covers a range of
issues which are still plaguing our country in the 21st century.
The director (Deepak Kumar Mishra) portrays the rural side
of our country in an aesthetic and raw manner. . The show builds up the
story at a steady pace with every episode tackling new issues and moving you
towards the climax. Except for some over dramatization of a few parts the show
remains true to its character. He does not overdo any of the characters and
gives them ample time and space to leave an impact on us.
The cinematography by Amitabh Singh immerses us into the
village of Phulera. The use of wide shots captures the rural landscape and
shows the characters in perspective to this small village. The scenes during
daytime are perfectly captured using natural elements like the intense sunlight
and the barren terrain. While the scenes in the night are beautifully captured
using the minimal sources of light in the village.
Cheers to the entire cast ensemble of the show. Every actor is brilliant in his or her role. Even the side actors have done such a great job. Our main protagonist Jitendra Kumar is just perfect with his controlled and well balanced performance. There is no overacting or over the top dialogues or any herogiri. He doles out the right amount of emotions for a disinterested young man stuck up in a job he doesn’t like but slowly unknowingly gets involved in the lives of the villagers. Raghuvir Yadav (Pradhan Pati) and Neena Gupta (Manju Devi) are both brilliant in their roles. But my favorite character is Vikas, Abhishek’s assistant played by Chandan Roy. He is extremely likeable as the one trying to help Abhishek all the time.
In depth episode-wise analysis - (*BEWARE SPOILERS ALERT*)
The episode starts with the protagonist Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar) on his way to a village in the interiors of UP - Phulera. His ignorance about rural India is reflected in the opening scene where he asks the conductor repeatedly how far Phulera is. While Abhishek's friend Prateek represents the aspirational urban India where we are obsessed with our CTC irrespective of how much we hate our corporate jobs.
As Abhishek arrives at Phulera as the Panchayat secretary, we are introduced to his office assistant - Vikas (Chandan Roy), the de facto Panchayat pradhan - Brij Bhushan Dubey (Raghubir Yadav) and the deputy Pradhan - Prahlad Pandey ( Faisal Malik).
To Abhishek's surprise, Brij Bhushan Dubey is the real person in charge although officially his wife is the Pradhan of the village. This scenario has taken place because the Pradhan’s seat has gone to Women’s quota as per directive from the Government of India. This highlights how the quota system fails to empower the weaker sections of the society.
The first episode revolves around the lock on the Panchayat office. The key to unlock it goes missing and the search for it through Phulera village. We learn about Panchayat politics when Pradhan shows off a water reservoir built which will be used for the next election campaign. This reflects the general politics in our country where winning votes is more important than doing welfare work.
Then it is revealed that the lock cannot be broken because the lock belongs to Manju Devi who had received it from her parents as a wedding gift. Being from an urban consumerist background, Abhishek cannot fathom the thought of being attached to such a small thing. But this shows the emotional attachment villagers have for certain things and it goes beyond the monetary value.
An encounter with a villager at a local Kirana shop for Abhishek shows the systemic corruption in the Panchayat where MNREGA funds are channeled to the men in power.
The episode finally shows that the people of the village have a big heart and are affectionate towards Abhishek. He is respected as the Panchayat Secretary in the village irrespective of the CTC he is drawing from the job.
In the end, the door is broken down as the lock turns out to be stronger than the former. This signifies the strength of human bond over materialistic pleasure.
The entire incident further demotivates him to stay in this village and decides to give the CAT exam to escape this job. His friend's advice of how his experience in village can help him get through IIM just shows how the urban people always have a selfish motive behind every good deed they seem to be doing for their country.
The episode beautifully ends with a power cut to immerse Abhishek further into the realities of village life.
Episode 2: Bhootha Ped
Abhishek is frustrated with the electricity apathy in the village and takes out his frustration on a hand pump.
The first Panchayat meeting is called where solar light installation is the main topic of discussion. The people in power decide to get all the lights installed outside their houses. This shows how every person is busy fulfilling their personal needs instead of the needs of the village.They decide to install the last solar light at the haunted tree of the village.
In the entire episode Abhishek and Vikas fight their way to get the last solar light installed at the panchayat office so that he can study for his exams in spite of the daily power cuts.
The story of the haunted tree (Bhootha Ped) shows the level of superstitions that is still prevalent in rural India and this stems from the lack of education.
In this episode, Abhishek busts the ghost story surrounding the tree and successfully gets the last solar light installed at the Panchayat office.
The episode ends with Abhishek studying for CAT under a solar powdered light and life seems to be finally rewarding him in this village.
Episode 3: Chakke Wali Kursi
The episode centers on a new chair with wheels that Abhishek buys from the market for a comfortable seating arrangement at the Panchayat office.
The chair suddenly becomes a symbol of power and stokes jealousy in the mind of the Pradhan.
This episode also shows a wedding in the village. It portrays how the entire village takes part in the wedding and everyone contributes in one way or the other. Reluctantly even Abhishek gets involved in the wedding preparations.
The episode highlights the still prevalent culture of dowry in the village. It also shows the ego and arrogance on the groom side. The groom throws multiple tantrums that frustrates Abhishek so much that he ends up calling the groom an "asshole". In order to defuse the situation, the chair with wheels is gifted to the groom as per his wish. Abhishek compromises so that the wedding can take place peacefully.
The episode ironically ends with the Pradhan buying a chakke wali kursi to show who the real boss in the village is.
Episode 4: Hamare Neta Kaisa ho?
The episode starts with population control slogans being painted in the village as directed by the DM.
But a controversy erupts when one of the slogans hurt people's feelings about having a family of more than two children. The episode highlights the villagers’ ignorance about family planning.
Pradhan, trying to be a righteous leader decides to back the slogan and goes against the villagers. But soon the villagers turn against him, and Pradhan fears loss of support for the next election and decides to remove the controversial slogan. This jeopardizes Abhishek's job and he goes to the BPO office to convince him to remove the slogan officially.
Just like in multiple instances in the series, here also a Lauki (Bottle Gourd) is used as goodwill to negotiate things between people. Lauki signifies good health to the person it is being gifted to. The BPO office shows the age old problem of chain of command, where orders from up the ladder have to be followed irrespective of the impracticality.
The real Pradhan, Manju Devi, an uneducated woman advises her husband Pradhan Pati to be a leader that the entire village should be proud of and fight for what is right.
This drives the Pradhan to become the Iron man of the village similar to the Iron man of India - Sardar Vallabhai Patel.
Episode 5: Computer Nahi Monitor
Abhishek gets jealous after seeing his friend’s Instagram page where he is partying on a Friday night. This prompts him to buy some beers and enjoy them all alone in the Panchayat office.
But next day when he wakes up hung-over, he realizes that the monitor of the Panchayat’s computer has been stolen from the office. The entire episode revolves around the stolen monitor from the Panchayat office.
The police investigation into the stolen monitor takes place in this episode. This is the first weak episode of the series, where the police investigation angle is not that funny and it becomes too convoluted with the police suspecting Abhishek for the stolen monitor.
In a wonderful scene superbly acted by Jitendra Kumar, Abhishek breaks down and lets out his frustration that he has zero social life in this village, while his friends in the city are enjoying their Friday nights. This touches the Pradhan and he decides to sit for a drink with Abhishek along with Deputy Pradhan and Vikas. It shows the warmth of the villagers and how you do not need fancy places to have a good time. The urban clan is an Instagram obsessed generation, where every post is superficial and it lacks the real joys that Abhishek experiences in Phulera.
The episode ends with Abhishek getting back the monitor with a very interesting note. This note shows the innocence of the Village people.
Episode 6: Bahut Hua Samman
This episode revolves around the fight between people of two villages.
Abhishek gets into a trivial fight with people from another village.
This episode highlights masculinity and how quickly male ego is hurt which causes people to start silly fights. Also how there is discrimination not only based on village but also caste. Abhishek not familiar with how things are done tries to manage the situation peacefully but it blows out of proportion.
With help of the Pradhan, Abhishek goes for a physical confrontation against the other village people. The scenes are over dramatized and the fight scenes are too stretched and do not invoke much laughter. The overall material for this episode is weak and ironically the episode ends with Abhishek's passport photo with a bandage on his head.
Episode 7: Ladka Tez Hai Lekin
The episode starts with a discussion about dowry and how every guy in a village in India has a rate card. The guy's family is paid as per the rate card and dowry is an accepted part of culture in the villages. Abhishek as an educated urban boy rejects the idea of dowry outright and this attracts Pradhan's attention for his daughter's marriage. This thought evens crosses Pradhan's mind because Abhishek's caste is same as theirs. This series always has a strong undercurrent of casteism that can be seen in the villages.
A villager, Deenbandhu wants to name his son as per his wife's wish but is convinced to change the name to a modern one on Vikas's insistence.But Deenbandhu's wife is agitated by the situation, and instructs Abhishek to find a solution.
Meanwhile, Abhishek is trying to focus on his studies as his CAT exam is on the next day. He is desperate to crack the test to get out of this village and get a high paying job.
Pradhan is busy checking whether Abhishek is intelligent enough to crack the exam and hence a suitable match for his daughter.
However, Abhishek fails to clear the exam, but he finds an interesting solution to finalize Deenbandhu’s son’s name. This shows that Ladka Tez sirf exam clear karne se nahi hota hai, balki life problems solve karke hota hai.
Episode 8: Jab Jaago Tabhi Savera
The episode starts with a quote on the walls of Panchayat building which says "When you fall then you feel pain and only then humans learn".
Here our main protagonist Abhishek has failed his CAT exam and still lamenting about his
This episode revolves around the Republic day celebration in the village.
As per rules, the Pradhan of the village is meant to hoist the flag and sing the national anthem. But in Phulera always the De facto Pradhan has been hoisting the flag. The women are not empowered enough to walk out of their houses and take up responsibilities outside their houses.
Manju Devi taunts Abhishek about his failure to crack the exam, and similarly he taunts Manju Devi about her inability to hoist the flag and sing the National Anthem inspite of being the Pradhan. This taunt empowers Manju Devi to start learning and rehearsing the national Anthem for the important day.
On the day, Manju Devi is reluctant to come as she is not confident and not sure whether she will be able to sing the National Anthem.But to put a twist in the proceeding just when Pradhan pati is going to hoist the flag, the female DM of the area arrives and asks for the real Pradhan. Manju devi arrives with other female ward members signifying that given the opportunity women can also feel empowered.
In a heartwarming scene, Manju Devi sings the National Anthem and whenever she hesitates or pauses; her husband supports her vocally to complete the entire national anthem. This shows that with every husband's support, every wife can be empowered to do much greater things.
This whole episode teaches Abhishek a life lesson that it is never too late to learn, and that you should always strive for success. This motivates him to keep working hard and study even harder to crack the CAT exam in the next attempt. This unusual journey for Abhishek in Phulera has taught him multiple things and created some beautiful relationships with people of the village.
As the closing shot of season 1, Abhishek finally climbs to the top of the tank to witness the beauty of the village which disappoints him but he meets the Pradhan’s daughter there which leaves him smiling.
The show leaves a smile on our faces and we can’t wait to watch what lies ahead of Abhishek in the next season.
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