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Panchayat Season 3 Review: Not sure how many of you have noticed this, but TVF series consistently suffer from a recurring problem. Most of their shows start off well or even spectacularly—like Kota Factory, Permanent Roommates, Flames, or Pitchers—but somewhere down the line, they struggle against their own hype and fail to live up to the brilliance of their first seasons. Unfortunately, TVF's Panchayat is not a game-changer in this regard. Now in its third season, Panchayat continues to excel in its performances, in creating pleasing moments, and in showcasing grassroots politics that is rarely covered these days. However, it struggles to maintain its tone and bring out the witty satire that once defined it. OTT Releases Of The Week: Jitendra Kumar’s Panchayat Season 3 on Amazon Prime, Arkasha Stevenson’s The First Omen on Disney+ Hotstar & More.
When Panchayat Season 3 begins, Abhishek (Jitendra Kumar) is no longer the Gram Panchayat secretary of Phulera; he has been transferred to a different village and has taken a break before starting his new posting to prepare for MBA entrance exams. Meanwhile, Brij Bhushan (Raghubir Yadav), Manju Devi (Neena Gupta), and Vikas (Chandan Roy) are doing all they can to prevent a new Secretary from taking office in their panchayat and to ensure Abhishek returns.
Watch the Trailer of Panchayat S3:
Of course, it doesn't take long for them to succeed, and Abhishek returns, though his return is driven by his blossoming attraction for Rinki (Sanvikaa), Brij Bhushan and Manju Devi's daughter. As always, he finds himself embroiled in village politics, trying to favour Brij Bhushan.
Sentimental = Temperamental
The previous season ended on an emotional note when Prahlad's (Faisal Malik) army son returned martyred. It was a shocking moment, especially since it came out of nowhere and changed the tone of the show, which until then had maintained a light-hearted satire. I had mixed feelings about the ending - while the sequence allowed Faisal Malik to shine, it didn't elicit the emotional response needed, as the tone change felt abrupt, and the character who died wasn't someone we knew well.
The repercussions of this ending continue in Season 3, as we see a subdued Prahlad still grieving his son's loss and struggling with loneliness. This storyline has its moments and is elevated by Faisal's performance, but it affects the overall mood of the show. Call me narrow-minded if you will, but I prefer light-hearted satires to remain so, which is why Panchayat was a success to begin with. I don't mind some emotional moments, but they shouldn't overstay their welcome. This is why the Nukkad finale still haunts my memories even after decades for going against the rule. So when Prahlad finally smiles and laughs with his friends over an amusing conversation, I felt more relieved than pleased.
This varying tone also affects the main conflict between Brij Bhushan and his team versus the 'vidhayak' Chandra Kishore Singh (Pankaj Jha). At times farcical, at times menacing, the track even turns violent in the end. Last season, we had a death; this season, gunshots. Someone on Panchayat's creative team should filter out the sensational news headlines they are getting inspired by.
Bhushan (Durgesh Kumar), who provided the most famous meme moment of Season 2 (Dekh rake ho Binod...), returns as the secondary antagonist, along with his wife Kranti Devi (Sunita Rajwar) and acolyte Vinod (Ashok Pathak). The actors are excellent, but after a point, their frequent clashes with Brij Bhushan and Manju Devi lose steam. Panchayat Season 2 Review: Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta and Raghubir Yadav’s TVF Series Maintains Its Amusing and Crackling Form Nearly Throughout!
Not Witty Enough
Then I realised the issue: the satire that Panchayat once revelled in is struggling to be witty, and the humour suffers as a result. The show continues to include government schemes like the 'Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana', but the storylines around these schemes fail to maintain momentum. When a poor family living in a cramped house tries to take advantage of the scheme to build a second house, they are told by a character that there’s no point in having a bigger house if it leads to a lonely life. This might resolve the track's problem, but it underserves the family's issues and never addresses the double standards where the more influential continue building bigger houses. Also when the show becomes serious, it is a little hard to be on Brij Bhushan's side, since the character's ineptitude also becomes clearer.
I liked how the new season delves more into Abhishek and Rinki's budding attraction—what can I say, I'm a sucker for Basu Chatterjee-style romances. However, the track is insistent on taking baby steps so that felt frustrating at times.
Final Thoughts on Panchayat Season 3
It's not that Panchayat Season 3 doesn't have good moments. There are moments when it veers closely to what worked for it in the first two seasons. For example, the episode where the Panchayat holds a welcoming committee for the disgruntled Vidhayak, which ends in a bird-shaped disaster, is particularly entertaining. However, the new season needed more of these moments to maintain momentum and consistency. Hopefully, that will happen next season! Three seasons of Panchayat are streaming on Prime Video.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 28, 2024 10:07 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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