In a clip from Panchayat Season 3, Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar) can be seen smiling slightly as he looks out of his modest office space. He recognises the katcha road, the buildings made of brick and mud, the towering water tank, and the village that he used to hate but has now come to adore. His swift return to Phulera after his move was cancelled indicates his affection for this scenery, which he formerly considered mundane, even though he hasn’t publicly acknowledged this change in heart.
We have romanticised Abhishek’s existence since Season 1, even though it took him some time to warm up to Phulera. Who wouldn’t want the serenity and tranquilly that a small community with a generally kind population can offer? “You wouldn’t last a day,” my mother, who has spent the majority of her life teaching children in villages, smirked as I professed my admiration for this pleasant life reminiscent of Malgudi Days. My most recent season of Panchayat showed me why.
In Season 3, the creators took a step closer to reality after spending the majority of Seasons 1 and 2 offering us a virtually perfect village life. Phulera descended farther into the muck of small-time politicians in the upcoming season. Rather from the slender wooden staff that Abhishek used to defeat the thugs of Fakoli Bazaar in Season 1, we now have thick, pointy bamboo poles and, worse, weapons.
After being ridiculed and expelled from Phulera by Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) in the previous season, the conceited, foul-mouthed MLA returns to the same location, but this time with goons and guns. In retaliation, the seemingly naive peasants take firearms out of their small closets. Who knew they possessed them at all? As a result of Dubey Ji’s (Raghubir Yadav) increasingly blatant, self-centered, and evident politics, Bhushan (Durgesh Kumar) grows enraged and comes up with more lethal and crafty plans to overthrow him. The end product is a show that struggles to balance its desire to break the norm and explore new ground with its upbeat attitude.
The creators make an effort to keep the show humorous and downplay the gravity of the situation in between these sombre themes. For example, the MLA is a party to a murder, but it’s a dog murder. In a comical scene, two hired goons surround their target from both sides, but they let their victim escape because they are engrossed in conversation. The romance between Abhishek and Rinky eventually develops as the two gradually come to terms with their emotions. The show’s beloved pleasant moments stem from the main characters’ devotion for one another, particularly for the grieving Prahlad (Faisal Malik).
These efforts, though, fall short of erasing the sombre, melancholy undertone of the season. After all, when men are pointing weapons at each other and have blood in their eyes, it’s difficult to laugh. There’s also a strong hint of Mirzapur in the upcoming episodes, which is bad news for Panchayat’s devoted followers. They loved the show for its innocence, simplicity, and nostalgia, finding excitement in the mundane activities of Phulera residents.
Darker themes have eclipsed the fun of seeing Abhishek struggle with everyday village facilities, the lighthearted banter between locals, and the unique but genuine village politics. The transition from whimsical village stories to powerful, politically driven drama is abrupt and leaves viewers longing for the show’s heartwarming core.
Although it makes sense for a story—and its characters, to some extent—to develop over time, does this mean that the plot must follow the same path as every other political thriller set in the countryside? This genre is well-represented in television series and motion pictures such as Yeh Kaali Kaali Ankhein, Guns and Gulaabs, Maharani, Jamtara, Masaan, and others. So, why compromise on the show’s unique charm and place it in the same assembly line?
It will be difficult for the creators of Phulera to keep the show’s carefree atmosphere in subsequent seasons after bringing a political storm to the town. It will be interesting to observe how this transition is balanced, but for the time being, Phulera’s “Phul” has become brittle due to the intensive eight episodes. It must go back under cover and be fed with the love and care that it received during the first two seasons.
Season 3 of Panchayat is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
