Panchayat (Season 4)
Introduction
The one thing that would instantly flash in front of your eyes when someone says ‘Panchayat’, is the village of Phulera and the goofy characters in the mix. This is something drastically different from the shrewd and shifty characters that you would associate in a dark world like Mirzapur. And honestly, that was the USP of Panchayat even as it had taken the internet by storm with its plotpoint of an engineering graduate forced to take up the role of a ‘Sachiv’ in a village, while slowly warming up to its people. It almost felt like a stroll in the bylanes of the village of Phulera that was laced with freshness, and a gentle breeze blowing to your face that would ensure that your life was worth living. But come the third season, I could sense the writers flirting with the idea of politics a little too much, just as I (almost) witnessed Phulera turning into a Mirzapur, and in its process losing out on its innocence.
Make no mistake – Mirzapur is like T20 cricket, fast-paced and brutal with equations changing rapidly. Phulera is test cricket, that unfolds at a leisurely pace while warranting the dynamics of the characters to be closer to their traits. But when reverse sweeps are employed in test cricket, it kind of takes away the beauty of a forward defence. So while venturing into the fourth season of Panchayat, I was partly excited but partly also skeptical about the whereabouts of Phulera (remember I had said that this can go either way in my review of its third season?). After finishing the fourth season, I can safely say that the Mirzapurification of Phulera is stalled, even as the innocence of the village is (partly) retained. It is like covering lost ground to an extent, even while willing to invest in smaller and sweeter plot-points as opposed to mixing gun-powder in ‘Lauki’.
Story & Screenplay
Written by Chandan Kumar, I will be the first to admit that the start of Panchayat is wobbly, and probably the weakest of the four seasons. The plot-point that reintroduces its characters featuring Brijbhushan Dubey (Raghubir Yadav) who is shot (in the previous season), and Abhishek Tripathi aka Sachivji (Jitendra Kumar) who has an FIR tagged against him by Bhushan (Durgesh Kumar). The setting remains that of the village election, and you see early signs of a demarcation between the two factions even as Abhishek contemplates on apologizing to Bhushan in order to squash his FIR. This specific plot-point felt like a proper hangover from the last season while also being slightly haphazard with the writing that didn’t necessarily come together with its emotions. But the attempt was clear on focusing on the smaller episodes in the village of Phulera amidst the broader context of a village election.
Things start to look brighter even as the drama unfolds in a game of cat and mouse, or more specifically between two rivals fighting it out for the coveted trophy. The flavour is of politics that forms the fundamental building blocks of the drama, but thankfully, the proceedings remain light-hearted with the focus being on exploring smaller plot-points. For instance, the cat and mouse game spills towards cleanliness featuring Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) and Kranti Devi (Sunita Rajwar), even as both indulge in a game of one-upmanship while having to clean a toilet. Within the same space, there is an underlying layer of politics in play even as Dubeyji blames Bhushan for firing a bullet on him, even as the latter returns the game of politics with a self-inflicted injury and blame-game that follows immediately. But more importantly, the arguments and equations are harmless and not as in-your-face as that in the third season.
One of the key points to be noted is how characters like MLA Chandrakishore Singh (Pankaj Jha) and Saansad ji (Swanand Kirkire) are deliberately reduced to the background, almost as an indication to keep the darker level of politics at bay, even as more loveable and harmless characters like Binod (Ashok Pathak), Madhav (Bulloo Kumar), Prahlad (Faisal Malik) and Vikas (Chandan Roy) takes centerstage. One of the high moments of the show remains on how the ‘Pradhan’ clan try and convince Binod to switch his loyalties. In a hilarious scene that shows Binod visiting the Pradhan household for a hearty dinner, you witness the ‘men’ around him reluctantly trying to give him an indication about switching loyalties, in what had an underlying layer of power lobbying – an important byproduct of the elections wherein ministers are bought🙂. It was one of the moments that zoomed in on one character, while exploring his arc, as opposed to a broad-stroke of relying on the situation of Phulera to take the story forward.
One important drawback remained the lack of emotional core in the proceedings. There seemed like a minimal attempt of exploring the emotional side of the characters, only briefly flirting with bouts of emotions featuring the entry of Manju Devi’s father in the village that has a bucket of life advices to impart, or a brief stint of guilt on the part of Prahlad, who is briefly accused of a deed that is immoral to him. The larger strokes unfold like a cricket match between two teams – and with very little to choose between the two, the techniques moderately get a little dirty too. It is like a match where only ‘powerplay’ is employed, and imagine the helter-skelter then!
But in the midst of these politics, the moments are light and funny, two important ingredients that drive the narrative forward. Be it a bag full of money that gets the characters in trouble, or even an electricity breakdown days before the election that soon enters into political mode with a character refusing to resolve the issue, just because he belongs to another village opposing the power center of Phulera, or even a aloo-samosa battle that is hilarious to the core, the events are immensely watchable and something that will put a smile on your face. Yes, it would be unfair to expect the same charm or the innocence of the first two seasons simply because like all of us, even Phulera is evolving and so are its characters. But the retention of simplicity is definitely in play here.
Amidst all of this, a little improvement that could have been done is a little more focus being on the preparations of Abhishek for his exam, and an early sign of a conflict that he has been facing – on whether to study and move out of Phulera or stick around, and pursue his love for Rinki (Sanvikaa). The same would have had a greater impact towards the end when the plot-point wishes to tap into this very trait. The personal journey of Abhishek felt slightly more sidelined, while making him swamp in deeper in the politics of the land. The conflict at the end is an interesting one, particularly with the shift in character dynamics on both sides, that makes me eager to tread towards season five, faster. And while the screenplay here remains similar to the third season in terms of its equations, it can be considered as another filler season of sorts (and it took another filler season for course correction) before a promising fifth season!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are pretty well written and in sync with the mood of the drama that oscillates between a serious political flavour to a comedy. The one-liners though will make you chuckle and that was a plus. The music is excellent while the notes do give the drama an earthy touch. The BGM is light and frothy, and one of the major factors in keeping the seriousness of the drama in check. It is almost as of the BGM does dictate the terms by keeping the writing firmly grounded in reality with a sense of humour as opposed to allowing it to drift in the Mirzapur territory. The cinematography is quite good capturing the landscapes of Phulera with a sense of purpose that gives the show an earthy flavour. The editing does feel slightly patchy with an overtly greater emphasis being on reaction shots that felt integrated in the drama. Director Deepak Kumar Mishra yet again proves his mettle as a filmmaker by controlling the proceedings and always creating situations for the characters to react to. His sense of the world that he had previously created is pretty accurate, and that definitely helps the cause here. If anything, his reluctance in exploring the emotional core of a few characters is a small demerit. I mean who wouldn’t enjoy the group of four chums sharing their pains and vulnerabilities over a pint of beer. There is a scene depicting the same but it needed to be a little more fleshed out. But otherwise, the direction remains pretty solid.
Performances
The performances are phenomenal by the ensemble cast and credit must go to casting director Shivam Gupta for handpicking some great talent (although I must also add that not all characters get an emotional arc to play with). Shashie Verma, Swanand Kirkire as Saansad ji (terrific in a brief understated role), Kirandeep Kaur Sran as Chitra and Saad Bilgrami as Aditya Kalyani Khatri are prolific actors and have their moments to shine. Amit Kumar Maurya as Bambahadur is such a natural onscreen and his brief appearance will tickle your funny bone. Tripti Sahu as Khushbu makes her presence felt in a character that has her emotional core on point (and perhaps something that could have been explored a little more too). Sunita Rajwar as Kranti Devi, Ashok Pathak as Binod(dekh raha hai na) and Bulloo Kumar as Madhav are hilarious to the core in what was a splendid job done overall. Their synergy, banter and dynamics are a sight to witness, and they result in a lot of laughs.
Durgesh Kumar as Bhushan is vily and calculating and is mostly at the center of a conflict, triggering issues in a game of one-upmanship. And he does a swell job here while being natural to the core. Sanvikaa as Rinki has a pleasant personality onscreen and she does a pretty good job. But I couldn’t help but think that her character was a touch underwritten. Pankaj Jha as the MLA Chandrakishor is brilliant to the core although his character is deliberately kept in the background, as a barter for a more frothy approach this time around.
Chandan Roy as Vikas is sincere and earnest in a job well done although I did feel that his character was a touch underwritten once again this time. He is generally in all scenes with the group but doesn’t have a central conflict of his own. Raghubir Yadav as Pradhanji takes a backseat and offers a well restrained performance. There are moments of vulnerability and angst as a part of his armoury this time around, and he manages to emote wonderfully well. Neena Gupta as Manju Devi offers a certain sense of maturity to her character whether it is to take rational decisions that are contrary to the hasty ones by the men around her. And there is a certain sense of earnestness that makes her character really affable.
Jitendra Kumar as Abhishek aka Sachiv ji has also evolved in this world. His innocence has turned into confidence wherein you can definitely feel a vibe surrounding his character towards the folks around him. Having said that, I did feel that a little more emphasis on his journey was the need of the hour, something that would have had a better payoff at the end. Nevertheless, he delivers a wonderfully measured performance that stays true to his character.
But my pick of the actors is Faisal Malik who is simply phenomenal to watch as Prahlad. You can sense that the grief within him hasn’t quite diminished completely. And the same is reflected in his eyes that are immersed in grief. The emotional baggage is reflective in the stance of his character that is weighed down by a lot of grief. As a result, when offered the post of an MLA, he initially refuses citing the fact that he doesn’t want politics to be played around his son’s death. There is a softness to his character that continues to stay grounded even when tempers flair around him. In a way, he has learnt to internalize his pain too, and that now remains the “new” building block of his character. And keeping all of this in mind, he puts up a commendable performance that remains brilliant to the core.
Conclusion
The fourth season of Panchayat stalls the Mirzapur-ification of Phulera while (partly) retaining its simplicity and innocence once again (thereby making it a sort of a transition season again). Make no mistake, if you go in expecting the beauty of the first and second seasons then chances are that you maybe disappointed. This is because the fourth season has a unique flavour of its own – it remains a mix of politics and comedy while refraining from being as dark as the third season. And that makes the drama a pleasant watch while still managing to be enjoyable for most parts! Available on Amazon Prime.
