One always falls short of expressing how the Prime Video series Panchayat warms one’s heart — possibly the only homegrown series that is stunning in its simplicity. Just as its previous seasons, Panchayat 3 catches the pulse of the people with its emphasis on the drudgery of life and moving on with a smile. While its lead cast — Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Faisal Malik and Chandan Roy — raises the bar as usual, the supporting actors this season deserve a shout-out too.
Durgesh Kumar as Bhushan Sharma
Bhushan Sharma, who’s also called Banrakas, resonates so strongly with us because we can find him everywhere — there’s always a guy like him who’s trying to drive a wedge between people.
Durgesh Kumar’s chemistry with his co-star Ashok Pathak (who plays Binod) and the way he addresses him — ‘Dekh raha hai Binod’ — is a hit with the audience, as is his dialogue ‘Kijiye meeting meeting... kheliye meeting meeting... karte rahiye meeting meeting... alhuaa meeting’, which has become a major talking point in the meme world.
Durgesh began his acting journey with films such as Highway, Sultan and Freaky Ali. He was recently seen in Trial by Fire, Laapataa Ladies, Bhakshak and Dedh Bigha Zameen. His projects include Junaid Khan’s debut film Maharaj on Netflix, Kartavya co-starring Saif Ali Khan, and Gangs of Ghaziabad with Shatrughan Sinha and Ashutosh Rana.
Ashok Pathak as Binod
After his iconic introduction in the earlier season, Panchayat 3 highlights Binod and puts a lot of focus on him to drive the show’s humour. He represents the common man who gets brainwashed until good sense prevails after a few hiccups
In Panchayat 3, Binod is someone who is easily manipulated by Banrakas Bhushan, and Ashok Pathak’s unique accent, dialogue delivery, amusing body language and facial expressions make the character a riot.
Ashok was at the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival with Karan Kandhari’s feature film Sister Midnight, which was selected under Quinzaine des Cinéastes (The Directors’ Fortnight is an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival). In Sister Midnight, he plays the lead alongside Radhika Apte. Since 2012, Ashok has been a part of various projects in smaller roles, such as Bittoo Boss, Shanghai, A Death in the Gunj, Fukrey Returns and Sacred Games.
Pankaj Jha as MLA Chandrakishore Singh
With certain shades of grey, Pankaj Jha makes his MLA Chandrakishore Singh thoroughly believable. As a powerful ‘vidhayak’ from the heartland, Pankaj presents Chandrakishore’s tough exterior as well as his softer side when he has to give away his pet horse.
Having worked for over two decades, Pankaj Jha has featured in Black Friday, Monsoon Wedding and Gulaal. His other interests include painting, poetry and writing.
Abha Sharma as Amma Ji
The 75-year-old theatre artist Abha Sharma is adorable as Amma Ji, spouting her signature dialogue ‘Mann kuch acha nahi lag raha’. Amma Ji feigns a fight with her son and daughter-in-law to bag a grant under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, and the scene where she fakes it is a must-watch.
Sharma took up acting at the age of 54, and she will soon be seen in Durga Prasad Ki Dusri Shadi (starring Sanjay Mishra and Mahima Chaudhary) and Kumbh.
