Panchayat TV Series

by Aman · October 18, 2024

Soon after its release on OTT platforms, Panchayat did not take much time to make its place in its audience’s hearts. Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra and scripted by Chandan Kumar, Panchayat TV Series is a Hindi-language comedy-drama created by The Viral Fever (more popularly known as TVF) primarily for Amazon Prime Video.

The storyline revolves around Abhishek Tripathi, an engineering graduate, who, due to a lack of job opportunities, is compelled to join as secretary of a panchayat office in a remote fictional village of Phulera in Uttar Pradesh. As the show progresses, we are introduced to the daily struggles and ups and downs in the protagonist’s life as he learns to adjust and adapt to the unfamiliar village culture, that is very different from the urban lifestyle he grew up in.

At Abhishek’s new job, the pay is poor; his workplace is a squat building with only three rooms that make up the dusty, dingy, and desolate office of the village Panchayat. His colleagues are simple rustic people, with little to no education.

Our main character spends his days trying to solve the mundane problems of the villagers with some guidance and help from the council members. His nights are spent fretting over power outages and his lonely existence – and sometimes, even running away from snakes! Desperate for a way out, he starts studying out of his office hours, preparing for the CAT exam, hoping it will brighten his job prospects and get him out of Phulera.

But as days pass into weeks, and weeks into months, Abhishek becomes less crotchety – new friendships are formed and there might even be the possibility of some romance.

Ever since Panchayat’s premiere on Amazon Prime Video on 3 April 2020, the series not only received a positive response from critics, but also its direction, scripting, performances of the leading actors, and major technical aspects have been praised. Critics have also appreciated TVF and its members for coming up with the idea of a rural village setting as compared to their other popular previous projects, which were mostly based on the urban atmosphere.

At the Filmfare OTT Awards inaugural ceremony, this series bagged all the nominations under the Comedy Series category, with only the exception of Best Actress. Panchayat was also nominated for Screenplay, Best Original Story, and Dialogues for Chandan Kumar, although it did not receive an award there.

Overall, the Panchayat TV Series is a feel-good show that is sure to strike a chord with its audience because of its relatability and reality. So go and watch Panchayat online right now, as this is a show that you cannot afford to miss!

Watch Panchayat Trailer Below