Panchayat Season 4 review: Phulera and its simplicity disrupted by politics
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Panchayat Season 4 Photograph: (WION)
Panchayat Season 4 bears the weight of previous seasons and tends to fall back on the things that worked in the earlier seasons. Nothing wrong with that, but a web series like Panchayat had opened up a new world for its viewers- in the new season, it sticks to the routine.
When the first season of Panchayat was released on Prime Video back in 2020, it brought the simplistic village life to our screens in the cities. At a time when the nation was binge-watching a lot of content on the OTT space, thanks to the forced lockdown during the first phase of the COVID-19 lockdown, the story of Phulera Village and its people felt like a breath of fresh air. From the reluctant, MBA aspirant Abhishek Tripathi or Sachivji finding home among the people of Phulera, to Pradhan and his family, to Vikas and Prahlad Cha- Panchayat’s characters felt unique yet very rea,l and people sitting in the comforts of their homes could resonate with their simple, often humorous village life. The success of the show ensured more seasons, which led to the greater exploration of each of the characters-with a romance track thrown in the third season between Sachivji and Rinki, the Panchayat head’s daughter. In its fourth season, the characters remain but Phulera has been infiltrated with politics as Panchayat Elections are round the corner and as it happens in most cases- politics ruins and corrupts the simplicity of Phulera here too, making Panchayat Season 4 a drab in comparison to its previous series.
Plot of Panchayat Season 4
Season 4 begins from where the previous season ended. Pradhan Pati (Raghubir Yadav) is now recovering from a gunshot wound, while Bhushan (Durgesh Kumar) from the rival gang has slapped an FIR against Abhishek aka Sachivji (Jeetendra Kumar) for slapping him. Even as Prahlad and Vikas try to pacify Abhishek not to worry, Sachivji is aware of the implications of an FIR against him. Awaiting CAT result – Abhishek does not want a Police case to mar his journey to business school.
Meanwhile, Phulera is gearing up for the Panchayat elections. Manju Devi (Neena Gupta), the popular Chief of the village, is facing tough competition from Kranti Devi (Sunita Rajwar), who never minces words and is also able to influence a part of the village along with her husband Bhushan, and sidekicks Vinod and Madhav. The good old lauki (bottle gourd) is now not just a gift that Pradhan gives away to people he like,s but his wife Manju Devi’s election symbol, while Kranti Devi uses the pressure cooker as her election symbol – putting pressure on the ruling party mentally as well as metaphorically.
What does not work
While writer Chandan Kumar tries to inject physical and situational comedy into the narrative, which has been synonymous with Panchayat all these years, the story itself now feels repetitive and a tad formulaic. The makers are now aware of the popularity and want to repeat it. The romance of Sachivji and Rinki, which in the previous season seemed subtle yet organic, now feels like an afterthought that is included only in the later part of the fourth season.
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The previous seasons of Panchayat worked for its earnest storytelling. It talked of a simpleton like Vikas who has no filter, it narrated the story of a slightly grumpy Sachivji who reluctantly but eventually becomes a part of Phulera, it talked of a grieving father like Prahlad who went into depression after his son was martyred in Kashmir. There was a sense of realism, even if the backdrop was unfamiliar to many of us. The simplistic story, the humour won us over.
Panchayat Season 4, however, bears the weight of previous seasons and tends to fall back on the things that worked in the earlier seasons. Nothing wrong with that, but a web series like Panchayat had opened up a new world for its viewers- in the fourth season, it sticks to the routine, making it sluggish.
What works
The actors, from Jeetendra Kumar to Faisal Malik, Neena Gupta, Sunita Rajwar, and Ashok Pathak, are all splendid. The new season works primarily because of the actors who elevate the ordinary script. Scenes featuring a drunk Sachivji trying to enter Bhushan’s home in the dead of the night, the gang trying to bribe Vinod with delectable items, and their drinking session with a new guest under the tree are all well executed and thus special.
Panchayat Season 4 ends with a hint of a possible Season 5, but one wonders if Phulera, a village neatly tucked away somewhere in North India, should open its heart and doors to the city and its viewers, thus enabling the outside world to corrupt its simplicity. Perhaps we need to let Phulera and its people be for now and move on.
