Panchayat (TV series)

In late 2019, The Viral Fever signed a deal with the streaming platform Amazon Prime Video to produce a new streaming television series for their platform, after the success of their previous collaboration Hostel Daze. Sameer Saxena, the creative head of TVF picked Chandan Kumar and Deepak Kumar Mishra to script the show and direct the series. Mishra earlier directed theatre shows and drama in the past, and in his meeting with the founder and then-creative head of TVF, Arunabh Kumar, he expressed his interest in scripting, acting, and direction. Later, he went on to direct the respective second season of Permanent Roommates and Humorously Yours. This was his first maiden attempt at directing a full-fledged streaming series for the media.

Mishra drew inspiration from the classic Doordarshan shows Malgudi Days, Potli Baba Ki, Swami and Tenali Rama, and decided to make one of them relatable to the current scenario stating that the kinds of shows are not present in this period. He and Chandan did extensive research and travelled across villages for an idea about the script, which was progressed in 2017, but had been delayed due to the research work. Chandan finally drafted the script whose one-line is about an engineering graduate who joins a low-paid salary job in a remote village and initially titled SDO Saheb, before they changed the title to Panchayat.[1]

We wanted to show realism. Usually, villagers are portrayed as ‘bhole-bhale’ log (simple people), who are ignorant and are shown in a very strange way. People raised their fingers saying that our story was slow, took time to sink in, and without any action, or a leading lady. But my writer and I were clear that we wanted to show a village in 2020 and probably the audience liked that realism. Today's rural youth is watching YouTube on mobile, they make TikTok videos, on ‘khaprail’ (clay-tiled) roofs they have dish antennas, flat-screen TVs are fitted on mud walls...so it's a different world now!

— Deepak Kumar Mishra, on the conceptualisation of the show Panchayat in an interview with Hindustan Times[15]

For the main character Abhishek Tripathi, Sameer Saxena picked Jitendra Kumar, who opined that his similarities to the character of the protagonist and the regular collaborations with TVF made it possible. His character had strong similarities with that of Mohan Bhargav, portrayed by Shah Rukh Khan in the 2004 film Swades.[16] About the contrast differences Kumar stated that "The comparisons were inevitable. But I am very happy about it, as I am a huge fan of the film. It left a deep impact on me. I even have a framed poster of the film — the one with SRK sitting in a boat surrounded by local villagers — in my home itself".[17]

Neena Gupta plays the role of Manju Devi, the village Pradhan, and a homemaker. She initially accepted the script on the basis of the response to TVF's previous projects as well as their collaboration with Raghubir Yadav and Jitendra (in her second collaboration after Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, in which she played the latter's mother character).[18] Yadav played the role of Brij Bhushan Dubey, husband of Manju Devi, and on the connection with his co-star, he stated "It was a great experience to work with Neena Gupta. She used to get into the character entirely. With her, it didn't feel we are here for acting".[19]

Yadav's student Chandan Roy played the role of Vikas, the office assistant. He initially confessed that he used to go to auditions every day and one of his friends at the casting bay called him for a small role in the series, which was supposed to be shot in a single day. He initially travelled to Bhopal to shoot for the same series and met one of the assistants in TVF, where the creative team sent a script for Vikas and also got the role, whereas Deepak Kumar Mishra shot the one-day portion which was initially offered to Roy.[20]

The series was shot in a real panchayat office located at Mahodiya Village, Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh, whereas the script was set in a fictional backdrop in Uttar Pradesh.[21] According to the lead actor Jitendra Kumar, the series was shot in the month of March and April 2019, which wrapped within two months.[22] However he opined as, during the time period, the temperature was extremely hot and was difficult to shoot, further adding that it was a tough time for the crew members who were 150 in number, as many used to stand in the fields holding umbrellas or lights.[22] Raghubir Yadav eventually said about shooting in real locations, stating that "It turned out to be really well as the aesthetics and the vivid hues of the village life can be clearly seen in the show."[23]

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Jitendra stated "My initial understanding of a panchayat was a big tree with five PANCH or sarpanch and other people sitting in its shade. They are usually fighting over a land dispute and come up with a solution right there. But actually, a Panchayat is like an office and every panchayat follows a process. The show talks about the problems of villagers which appear to be very funny for us."[24]

Anurag Saikia composed the soundtrack and background score for Panchayat. The background score and songs include the use of acoustic guitars, a pianist, an accordion, and the kora, despite the setting in rural India. Saikia initially noted that "The creative producer Abhijeet Singh Parmar wanted "anything but the usual music. So we initially tried symphony, then rock, and even jazz. The music for episode one took a month or two to be locked in. Once that was in place, we decided to keep the music acoustic and minimalist".[25]

He initially added that the biggest challenge for him is to feature an ambient sort of music, with a bit of rock. However, the score featured only acoustic instruments. Saikia, in an interview with Scroll.in opined that "When an entire score for a scene got chucked, I had to bring the musicians back to the studio, and they often played for the same scene thrice a week. This happened with the theme that is used to introduce the village pradhan's husband."[25]

One of the songs in the series Hiya Tho, was received positively by the audience for producing a soulful tune with gibberish lyrics. The word "Hiya", stands for heart in Assamese. Due to his early exposure to Assamese and Western classical music, Anurag Saikia stated that "the song is inspired by the chants we have grown up hearing in monasteries in the North East". He recruited fellow Assamese singer Shankuraj Konwar for vocal duties since he would understand the song's Assamese roots.[26]

The original soundtrack album for the series was unveiled on 10 April 2020, followed by the original score on 1 May 2020. The soundtrack features five songs and theme music, all have been performed and written by Saikia, whereas Vivek Hariharan, Raghav Chaitanya, Vinnie Hutton, and Shankuraj Konwar sang the vocals.[27] The background score which released as a separate album format features sixteen tracks

Amazon Prime Video announced the release of eight new Indian originals in January 2020,[28] with Panchayat being one of them.[29] The official trailer of Panchayat was released on 29 March 2020.[30][31] The eight-episode series premiered on 3 April 2020.[32] In May 2020, the makers released the Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions of the series after fans request.[33]

On 28 April 2022, the second season was announced after the completion of the production. On 2 May 2022, it was announced that the second season will premiere on 20 May 2022.[34] However, Prime Video released all the episodes on 18 May 2022, two days earlier than its actual premiere date.[14]

Deepak Kumar Mishra revealed to social media that there would be a Panchayat Season 3.

Panchayat season 3 will involve eight episodes and is set to be released in late 2023 on Amazon Prime Video.

Sreeparna Sengupta of The Times of India rated four out of five stars and wrote "What keeps Panchayat ticking are the well-timed dialogues and situations that keep you chuckling all along."[35] Nandini Ramanath of Scroll.in wrote "The series is better placed to explore the foibles of its handful of characters. Panchayat unfolds as a comedy of mofussil manners. A proposal to install solar-powered lights teaches Abhishek the art of negotiating with the locals. A poorly phrased slogan for family planning leads to the discovery of hidden allies. The theft of a computer monitor is a sign that Abhishek is finally settling into his role."[36] Ruchi Kaushal of Hindustan Times stated "Panchayat is a perfect example that what you really need to make a series sing is a solid script. If you are looking for something beyond the good old Ramayan and Mahabharat during the lockdown, Panchayat should definitely be on your must-watch list."[37]

Ektaa Malik of The Indian Express gave three-and-a-half out of five stating "Panchayat incisively breaks the dual-tone presentation of the Indian small town in mainstream narratives. Jitendra Kumar is continuing his fine form after Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan and his 'hairan-pareshan' expression has only gotten better. Though we wonder how long will he keep doing these underdog-needs-to-be-rescued roles."[38] Nairita Mukherjee of India Today summarised "Panchayat teaches us why rural India is possibly more equipped to handle isolation compared to its urban counterparts. Jitendra Kumar and Raghuvir Yadav drive the show, but we wanted to see much more of Neena Gupta."[39] Saraswati Datar of The News Minute stated "There are plenty of laughs but just as many genuine moments of emotion which force you to pause and feel for the people in this quirky tale. Go ahead and watch Panchayat, it's exactly the ray of sunshine we need in gloomy times like these."[40]

Rahul Desai of Film Companion stated "The TVF show has one of the finest ensembles of recent times with Chandan Kumar's screenplay ensuring characters don't come across as caricatures."[41] Udita Jhunjhunwala of Firstpost gave three-and-a-half out of five stating "On-target casting, immersive production design, crafty dialogue, and situations handled with a light touch to make Panchayat a satisfying watch. And who would have thought lauki (bottle gourd) could be such an effective peace offering!"[42] Tanisha Bagchi of The Quint gave four out of five stating "Panchayat scores in its opening credits too, and by the time the sun sets on the worn-down office, we know one thing for sure - it takes a village to drive away from the fatigue that has crept in owing to Bollywood's obsession to set every other film in a small town."[43]

Priyanka Sinha Jha of News18 reviewed "City-slickers, small-town audience or country hicks, whichever category you may fall in, Panchayat is a must-watch for those who enjoy India stories."[44] Shilajit Mitra of Cinema Express reviewed "Though the show progresses quickly, with a new distraction emerging every episode, Abhishek stays focused on his goal. He's least bothered about Phulera and its going on. All he wants to do is study, bide his time and clear out. Writer Chandan Kumar and director Deepak Kumar Mishra steer clear of obvious heroism. When Abhishek gets into a scuffle and his ego swells, the scene quickly turns to slapstick."[45] Tanul Thakur of The Wire wrote "Panchayat has a constant lightness of touch, and that is reflected in the aesthetics, too. Its scenes aren't hurried; a consistent relaxed rhythm informs the entire show."[46]