Panchayat 3 Review: Jeetendra Kumar’s show soars with emotions, surprises with supporting cast | web series
Panchayat 3 Review: Everyone has been waiting for the third chapter of Panchayat for the past two years and the latest installment surprises, amuses, amazes and depresses – all at the same time. This time, Panchayat 3 turns political as the show opens a new chapter on the politics and bureaucracy of rural India, led by a stellar cast like Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, on screen. However, this may leave the audience with some loose ends. (Also Read: ‘Panchayat 4’ Work Begins, Plans To Make Fifth Season Also: Director Deepak Kumar Mishra)
Written by Chandan Kumar and directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, the show comes as a sine wave of emotions. It will make you cry, laugh, go numb, nostalgic and be a part of their simple yet adventurous life.
The season starts with Sachiv G’s broadcast and it takes 5-10 minutes for the viewer to return to Fullera. It continues the theme of dealing with grief, community support and the importance of togetherness. If we talk about twists and turns, the show will not disappoint the audience.
Synchronized with the political buzz during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the show delves deep into rural politics and corruption at a broad level, while maintaining a simple narrative technique.
Anurag Saikia’s music adds to the feeling. This reflects the mood of the story. Even as the title track shifts from instrumental to rock, the background score is in sync with the emotional quotient of the story. The sounds and tunes make Phulera’s life more alive, be it the whistle when Sachiv ji and Rinki sit next to each other, and the emotional track when Ama helps Prahlad clean the house.
The supporting cast was thrust into the limelight
As far as the narrative is concerned, the director has tried a new approach of bringing the supporting cast forward to drive the story forward while the lead actor plays on the sidelines. This style really worked in favor of the story. The director makes everyone a hero, with his own style and technique.
Actor Durgesh Kumar has an interesting arc as Bhushan Sharma. This time she challenges the main characters in their position and emerges as one of the strongest roles of the season. His true potential has been put to good use compared to previous seasons.
The line-up – no role is small – is in keeping with Panchayat Season 3. Actors with smaller roles also get a chance to perform and shine, from Sunita Rajwari as Kraanti Devi, Pankaj Jha as MLA Chandrakishore Singh, Ashok Pathak as Vinod to Bulu. Kumar as Madhav. Bam Bahadur, a new character, adds strength to the story.
The Return of Ganesh (Essay by Asif Sheikh) is a surprising and happy moment. It brings nostalgia and plays a major role in the story.
Speaking of the main cast, they are all reliable as usual. Be it Jeetendra Kumar as Abhishek Tripathi, Raghubir Yadav as Brij Bhushan Dubey, Neena Gupta as Manju Devi, Chandan Roy as Vikas or Sanvika as Rink, they are very attractive to watch on screen. However, a bit underutilized given how their character journeys have been portrayed this season.
If Jeetendra brings the laid-back vibe, Sanvikaa adds an innocent love angle to the story and Chandani sets the fun meter of the show.
There are also hints that Nina’s character was a village pradhan and outranked her husband in politics. It’s not fleshed out in a story line that would have been fun to watch. We can hope that the writer will delve further into this area in the future.
Everyone was waiting to know how cheerfully Prahlad (Essay Faisal Malik) copes with the death of his son. Fortunately for everyone, the creators did not ignore it. They justified the character and focused on his story as well. In fact, he has the most interesting arc, from showing how he gave up on life, drowned himself in alcohol, found a reason to live, laugh, and bring a little joy around him once again. It’s good to see Prahlad from previous seasons and Faisal impresses with effortless acting skills.
Writing is slow
The show’s writing was a little tired in places, with hints of fatigue in continuing the story. It can be felt that the writer wrote an elaborate script. However, it was clear that a few things didn’t make it to the final edit in post-production, leaving behind a few loose ends. From the missing explanation of the character joining the strike against the government, the idea of dating the MLA’s daughter.
What doesn’t work for Panchayat 3 is that the show seems to be a bit stretched between them. In fact, some viewers may feel that it was disjointed. This may be because the writer tries to deal with many issues prevailing in rural India as an emotional upheaval and cater to it at once.
Higher stakes for the future
For part three, the stakes were high and the writer raised the bar. However, it finally bounced back as the season ended on an unforgettable note. There was a high point, just minutes before the climax, that could have been a big cliffhanger and a starting point for season four.
Overall
That being said, the third season may have been slow, but it wasn’t low on entertainment, emotion and thrill factor.
Note to readers: A quick recap of Season 1 (2020) and Season 2 (2022) would be good, as the third installment drops several references from the previous installments without explanation. And it might make you crack your head, think twice, or pick up your phone to find the story behind it.
Panchayat Season 3 is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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