The charm of Panchayat, created by The Viral Fever, lies in its simple and relatable portrayal of rural life. Staying true to its tone, Prime Video’s Panchayat Season 3 expands the show’s horizons beyond comedy, allowing the central characters to grow and explore larger themes through the eight episodes.
It’s MLA vs Pradhan this time
Panchayat Season 2 had wrapped on a dramatic note, with the death of the son of Phulera’s deputy chief Prahlad (Faisal Malik). The climax saw Panchayat head Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) confronting a local MLA (Pankaj Jha) who wanted to exploit the tragedy for political gain. The season ended on a cliffhanger with Panchayat ‘sachiv’ Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar) being transferred.
In Season 3, the central conflict revolves around Phulera's lack of proper roads and the MLA's vendetta against Pradhan (Raghubir Yadav). The show finally gets a full-fledged villain in the MLA, adding tension and allowing viewers to root for team Pradhan. The impending panchayat elections also add to the chaos and conflict. Bhusan (Durgesh Kumar) is eyeing the chair of village head and joins hands with the MLA to outmaneuver Pradhan.
Characters undergo a transformation
The change in some of the key players is a highlight this season. Initially content with staying in the background and letting her husband lead, Manju Devi’s transformation into a competent village head is evident as she demonstrates her political acumen. She also becomes more supportive of her daughter Rinki’s (Sanvikaa) ambitions to pursue higher education and a career. Similarly, Panchayat secretary Abhishek gets drawn into village politics even more while he prepares for his MBA exams and secretly longs to stay back in Phulera.
Faisal Malik is the star of Season 3
However, ‘Sachiv’ Abhishek takes a back seat for most of Season 3, and the compelling parts revolve around a grieving Prahlad and the supportive community around him. Vikas (Chandan Roy) and the Dubey family ensure Prahlad is well-fed and rested, despite him taking solace in the bottle quite often. Faisal Malik makes an impact with the way he pulls off the change in Prahlad, his jovial persona from the first two seasons becoming a distant memory.
The old-world charm remains
Certain things, like the sense of community among the villagers, remain the same. Everyday squabbles are immediately set aside when someone faces a crisis. When Vikas gets a call about his wife's health, the whole group gathers in his living room and Pradhan arranges a car to take them to hospital. Similarly, when an elderly woman falls ill in the middle of the night, Abhishek and the gang go through several chaotic attempts to get her to a clinic at night in a rickshaw that no one is sober enough to drive.
Even the ‘violence’ in the show comes with a humorous touch. A clash between the MLA’s men and team Pradhan outside a hospital involves grown men wielding sugarcane sticks, slapping and air-punching each other. Another stand-off between the villagers and the MLA is interrupted by a phone call right at the moment when the latter was about to pull the trigger. And the chase sequence where a villager outruns two goons is pretty hilarious.
