Panchayat – drama series

Have been hearing about this series for quite some time. Unlike English series, Hindi ones rarely appeal on OTT. When my friends mentioned that it was like “Swades” movie, was curious to have a look. The story is about a guy who gets a job as Panchayat secretary of a remote village in UP. While his friends and peers have all been employed in IT and other high paying jobs, he feels lost and grudgingly takes up the job. His aim being to clear CAT exams the very year and move onto a high paying MBA job. What happens in his role as a panchayat secretary, how the happenings in the village and its setup influence his life, forms the 2 seasons. The story for each episode is as simple as it gets. In fact, the most difficult part of the whole setup would’ve been the simplicity of the setup which leads credibility to the scenarios and situations faced by the motely group, led by the village Pradhan (a terrific Ragubir Yadav who aces the role of the proxy Pradhan) his deputy Pradhan and an office assistant. Most of the office bearers play the role by proxy as the real elected representatives happen to be their wives. Neena Gupta, the actual village Pradhan, is as majestic as she comes. The way she confronts the BDO during the flag hoisting scene is ample proof that she still has lot in reserve. Just like how the village setup gradually grows over the hero, the premise, and the setup, slowly hooks in the viewers. With running time of about half an hour per episode, the series is patiently paced. The challenges that the hero overcome have nothing dramatic about them, except for the second season when ugly politics begin to rear its head in the form of a rude MLA. Be it installing solar panels to overcome power cuts during night times, toilets for villagers as the village was already declared ODF, CCTV cameras, taking government plans and schemes to the village locals and practical real time challenges in dealing with people on ground. How common village folks are still unaware of government schemes and how they are easily manipulated, lack of education and resistance to creating awareness, each of major macro topics are addressed in as practical manner as possible, with little dollops of humour. With the entire setup happening around the fictional village and almost the entire sequence happening outdoor, made me wonder how they would’ve shot this series and where. There could’ve been some interesting challenges faced by the crew while shooting itself. 

Personally, the simplicity of the whole premise, very relatable casting with down to earth people, the charm of an old world kind of setup where there is almost no negativity with an innocence that is cute yet vulnerable at the same time, all combine to make this a decent watch. Looking forward to the next season.