Panchayat 3 review: Jitendra Kumar’s show soars high on emotions, surprises with supporting cast | Web Series ullu-web-prime.com
Panchayat 3 review: Everyone was waiting for the third chapter of Panchayat for the past two years, and the latest instalment surprises, amuses, bedazzles and falters — all at once. This time, Panchayat 3 gets political as the show opens a new chapter on politics of rural India and bureaucracy, led by an exceptional cast such as Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, onscreen. However, it might leave the audience with some loose ends. (Also read: Work has begun on ‘Panchayat 4’, plan to make season five too: director Deepak Kumar Mishra)
Written by Chandan Kumar and put together by director Deepak Kumar Mishra, the show comes as a sinusoidal wave of emotions. It makes you cry, laugh, feel numb, nostalgic and part of their simple yet adventurous life.
The season starts with the transfer of sachiv ji, and takes 5-10 minutes to set the premise before the audience return to Phulera. It goes on to deal with the theme of handling grief, community helping each other, and the importance of unity. If we talk about the twists and turns, the show doesnât disappoint the audience.
Keeping in sync with the political buzz during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the show delves deep into village politics, and corruption at grassroot level, while retaining the simple storytelling technique.
What adds to the feel is the music by Anurag Saikia. It reflects the mood of the storyline. While the title track is segueing from instrumental to rock, the background score is in sync with the emotional quotient of the plot. The sounds and tunes make the life of Phulera more lively, be it the whistle when Sachiv Ji and Rinki sit next to each other, to the emotional track when Amma helps Prahlad clean his house.
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Supporting cast gets into the spotlight
When it comes to the narrative, the director has tried a fresh approach of bringing the supporting cast in front to drive the story forward, and the lead cast to play on the sides. This style has definitely worked in favour of the story. The director makes everyone a hero, in their own style and way.
Actor Durgesh Kumar as Bhushan Sharma has an interesting arc. This time, he threatens the lead characters of their position, and emerges as one of the most strong roles of the season. His true potential has been utilised well as compared to the previous seasons.
The line — no role is small — stands true for Panchayat season 3. Actors with small roles also get a chance to perform and shine, from Sunita Rajwar as Kranti Devi, Pankaj Jha as MLA Chandrakishore Singh, Ashok Pathak as Vinod to Bulloo Kumar as Madhav. Bam Bahadur, a new character, adds to the strength of the story.
The return of Ganesh (essayed by Aasif Sheikh) is a surprising and happy moment. He brings in nostalgia, and plays a pivotal role in the plot.
Talking of the lead cast, they all are dependable as usual. Be it Jitendra Kumar as Abhishek Tripathi, Raghubir Yadav as Brij Bhushan Dubey, Neena Gupta as Manju Devi, Chandan Roy as Vikas or Sanvikaa as Rinki, they are endearing to watch on screen. However, a tad bit under-utilised, considering thatâs how their charactersâ journey was depicted in this season.
If Jitendra brings a calm vibe, Sanvikaa adds an innocent love angle to the story and Chandan turns on the fun meter of the show.
There are also hints of Neenaâs character taking charge of being the pradhan of the village, and outsmarting her husband in politics. That is not developed in detail in the storyline, which would have been fun watching. One can hope that the writer delves into this zone further in the future.
Everyone was waiting to know how jovial Prahlad (essayed by Faisal Malik) is coping up after his sonâs death. To everyoneâs delight, the makers didnât ignore it. They did justice to the character and put the focus on his story as well. In fact, he has the most interesting arc, from showing how he has given up on his life, drowning himself in alcohol, to finding reason to live, laugh and cherish little joys around him once again. It is good to see a glimpse of Prahlad from previous seasons, and Faisal impresses with effortless acting skills.
Writing gets slow
The showâs writing was a bit underwhelming at places, with hints of fatigue in continuing the story setting in. One could sense that the writer wrote an elaborative script. However, it was clear that few things didnât make it to the final edit in the post production stage, leaving behind several loose ends. From the missing explanation of a character joining a strike against the government, to the thought behind the introduction of the MLA’s daughter.
What doesn’t work for Panchayat 3 is that the show seems a bit stretched in between. In fact, some viewers might feel it is disjointed. This could be because the writer tries to tackle many issues prevailing in rural India at the grassroot level as well as emotional upheaval and serve it in one go.
Higher stakes for future
The stakes were high for the third part and the writer did raise the bar. However, stumbled in the end as the season wrapped up on a forgettable note. There was a high point, just a few minutes before the climax, which could have been a great cliffhanger and starting point for the fourth season.
All in all
That being said, the third season might have been slow at places, but it was not low on entertainment, emotions and the thrill factor.
Note for readers: A fast recap of season one (2020) and season two (2022) would be good, as the third part drops some references from the previous instalments, sans explanation. And it might leave you scratching your head, or thinking twice or making you pick your phone to search for the story behind it.
The Panchayat season 3 is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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