For a series like Panchayat, which has these satiric undertones and a simpler plot, the challenge in pulling off newer seasons is not being redundant. By shifting away from its signature humor-heavy style to a more character-oriented narrative, this series from TVF did manage to stay relevant with its third season. When it comes to the fourth season, even though it has certain silver linings as the character study nature of the series is getting repeated and we are becoming more familiar with the characters, one could see the series lacking relatable high moments, which were in the other seasons.
After the whole tussle between the MLA and Pradhan Ji, there is tension in the atmosphere, and there is still a mystery about who tried to kill Pradhan Ji. In the meantime, the elections are around the corner, and Bhushan is running for the elections with the support of the MLA. What we predominantly see in season 4 is the planning and efforts of each party to win the election.
If the first two seasons of Panchayat were those breezy, fun ones, I would say the last two seasons had a mature and broader tone. In season 3, the character arc of Prahlad really became the backbone of the story, and there were these dialogues about belonging that worked in favor of the tone shift. Even though it looked like the political game was going to get tougher in the fourth season, the makers are, in a way, prolonging that showdown to another season. While there are enough setups there this time to make us wait for what will happen to Phulera in the future, the fourth season is lacking those signature moments that used to become memes without any manipulation.
The grief of Prahlad in the third season was an event that sort of really helped the series to try something new out of its comfort zone. In the new season, the writing is trying to sustain that rhythm by exploring someone like Binod, who was always looked down on in the story for the sake of creating humor. His ignorance about several things is making him a loser in life. But you sort of realize his honesty and also how he is craving to be respected. The way the Laddu chapter in the first act gets a payoff in the final moments of the season pretty much makes the story, this time about Binod and his unrelenting loyalty. The latter part of the story, which is trying to move things forward in the individual tracks of characters, is more or less the same with minimal progression.
Jitendra Kumar, as Sachiv Abhishek, doesn’t have much challenge this time as the focus is less on him. Raghubir Yadav, as Pradhan Ji, gets to play the character in a different shade this time because of the injury that happened to Pradhan. The developments in the story also give him a space to showcase another side of Pradhan, and he is good at it. Faisal Malik as Prahald, Chandan Roy as Vikas, and Neena Gupta as Manju Devi were fine in their roles. Sanvika, as Rinki, is getting a bit more screen time this time as the relationship dynamics are growing.
Sunita Rajwar as Kranti Devi and Durgesh Kumar as Bhushan are getting extensive space this time in the story. Pankaj Jha, as the Vidhayak, shows us a different and slightly funny version of that character for obvious reasons. The most memorable performance and character of this season was Ashok Pathak’s Binod. Making the audience empathize with a character who was always at the receiving end of mockery is not an easy task, and Pathak is not doing anything drastically different to achieve that. The audience rooting for Binod beyond the on-screen politics is perhaps the only takeaway of this particular season.
In terms of plot development, the series created by Chandan Kumar, which this time gets two directors, Deepak Kumar Mishra and Akshat Vijayvargiya, is the weakest among all the other seasons. Now, with a major shuffle happening in the power structure and with the introduction of some interesting upgrades and rivalries into the story, Panchayat Season 4 is definitely teasing you to know what will happen in Phulera in future, but not necessarily in the most optimistic way.
