When Panchayat first arrived on Prime Video in the middle of the pandemic, the rural comedy series won hearts with its simplicity, humour and quirky characters. The story of Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar), a city-bred engineer reluctantly adapting to life in the village of Phulera, felt relatable.
Now in its fourth season, Panchayat attempts to raise the stakes. But in doing so, it seems to have lost sight of what once made it so special.
Panchayat Season 4 revolves around the panchayat elections in Phulera. Manju Devi (Neena Gupta), the current village chief, is fighting to save her chair. She chooses the lauki as her election symbol. Her challenger, Kranti Devi (Sunita Rajwar), settles for the pressure cooker, a fitting metaphor for the rising tensions in the village.
What could have been a sharp, engaging political drama with the show’s usual humour, ends up feeling slow and stretched out over eight episodes, with very little real tension.
The biggest issue with the new season is not just its focus on electoral politics, but how sterilised that depiction is. In a country where elections are often marred by no-holds-barred personal attacks during campaign, violence, rigging and other malpractices, Panchayat presents a rather rosy version of the process. The chaos is mostly reduced to harmless subplots — like fighting over who will clean a dirty school toilet — and quirky slogans.
We are not asking for a Mirzapur from the makers, but for a show that once prided itself on authentic depiction of an idyllic village, this sanitised portrayal feels like a missed opportunity. Even the much-hyped result is delayed until the second half of the final episode, by which point, much of your interest has waned.
Most disappointingly, the season squanders a golden opportunity to explore the dramatic potential of pitting two strong women, played by Neena Gupta and Sunita Rajwar, against each other in a battle for power. Their face-offs are rare, and when they do occur, they end in a whimper. Instead, their husbands — Pradhan ji (Raghubir Yadav) and Banrakas (Pankaj Jha) — steal the limelight.
Adding to the disappointment is the complete neglect of characters who won our hearts in previous instalments. The arcs of Vikas (Chandan Roy), Prahlad (Faisal Malik) are barely explored, except for a brief subplot involving a police raid.
Another disappointment is the frustrating lack of progress in the slow-burning romance between Abhishek and Rinki (Sanvikaa). Their interactions are few and far between. Rinki, who once dreamt of becoming an independent woman, is relegated to the sidelines this season.
Even the cliffhanger from Season 3 — the big fight between the MLA’s men and residents of Phulera, and Pradhan ji’s subsequent bullet injury — is conveniently wrapped up within the first episode, without a satisfactory resolution.
What keeps Panchayat afloat, even in this underwhelming season, is its cast. Jitendra Kumar delivers a restrained and nuanced performance, but he could play Abhishek even in his sleep. Neena Gupta does her best with a role that deserved more teeth. Sunita Rajwar lights up the screen in her limited time, while Pankaj Jha’s Banrakas is ambitious and eccentric as usual. Raghubir Yadav is compelling, particularly in the final moments of the season.
