When you hear the word ‘Panchayat’, what is the first image that comes to your mind? I’ll tell you mine—a sprawling banyan tree that offers some cool shade, and underneath it a few ‘khatiyas’ or chairs. On them is seated an old man, who looks authoritative with the Sarpanch ‘paghdi' on his head. And surrounding him are four other male villagers, looking equally smug. Together, they form the Panchayat. And because I remember my Civics lesson well, I’ll probably imagine one of the five to be a woman, because reservation. Movies and television have also, to a certain extent, helped build this imagery of what a Panchayat looks like. But prepare to be surprised, or at least, educated, when you watch Amazon Prime India’s newest original series, created by TVF, Panchayat.

Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, a TVF regular who has directed Permanent Roommates and done cameos in Hostel Daze and Kota Factory, the comedy-drama stars another TVF favourite, Jitendra Kumar (Jeetu Bhaiyya), who was last seen in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan opposite Ayushmann Khurrana. Jeetu plays city boy Abhishek Tripathi who can’t find a corporate job and thus joins as secretary of a panchayat office in a remote village of Phulera, Uttar Pradesh. While his friend, who already has a corporate job with a 12 LPA package tries to convince him that this is a golden opportunity to gather some good work experience, Abhishek is reluctant and decides to appear for the CAT exam—his only ticket out of there. His plan, thus, is to study after-work, clear the exam, and change jobs.

But of course, it’s easier said than done. Running a village Panchayat is not an easy business, as Abhishek finds out over the course of this eight-episode journey. For starters, it is minus the ease, comfort and modernisation that he is used to in the city. There are power cuts, dusty rooms, no privacy, no system and loneliness. And then comes the Herculean task of keeping the villagers appeased and dealing with their idiosyncrasies. For example, while the Pradhan of the village is actually a woman, Manju Devi, played by Neena Gupta, she is merely a nominal head. Instead, it is her husband, Brij Bhushan Dubey, played by veteran actor Raghubir Yadav, who governs the land along with his Deputy Pradhan, Prahlad Pandey (Faisal Malik) and the other members of the Panchayat. Helping Abhishek navigate these bumpy inroads into the villagers' lives is Vikas, played by Chandan Roy, who is his assistant.

Panchayat’s trailer made a few things rather obvious about the show. This was going to be a fun, light-hearted take on rural governance in India, and the performances were going to be something to watch out for. My only concern was that this show shouldn’t become some serialised version of Swades, with a bit of humour sprinkled here and there for that satirical effect. Fortunately, I had the chance to interact with both Jitendra and Raghubir Yadav who both promised a very unique perspective of a rural Panchayat setup, and a dip into the nostalgic humour and simplicity of television shows of yore.

Is Panchayat all of that?

I was promised a panchayat like I’d never seen before. And I honestly have never had the privilege so forgive me if I was a little surprised to see a brick-and-mortar office, and a proper, albeit ramshackle setup. The series was shot in the actual panchayat office of the village, and most of the setup is authentic. I loved the attention to detail embroidered in the film, from the houses in the village to the chairs officially stamped with the panchayat’s name, to the way the characters were dressed and conducted themselves.

The sepia-toned opening credits in Hindi did the dual task of lending the world of Panchayat a rustic feel and invoking nostalgia of the rural ways of life which are almost forgotten to us urban folk. The accompanying music, and the background score throughout the series, composed by Anurag Saikia was one of my favourite things about the show because it reminded me of 80s and 90s television. The low camera angles and the wide dynamic top shots are often used to depict how a character might be both dwarfed and made larger than life depending on the theme of the scene (cinematography by Amitabha Singh).

Panchayat's pace is reminiscent of the director's other works, it's in no rush to tell you the story. You'll find pauses and long shots plenty, because it is a slice of life, and life barely moves at break-neck speed in the village. Their's leisure, people are living a laidback life and there's a certain slow pace that suits its theme well.

The story is pretty straightforward, and the semi-episodic treatment works well for the show. There’s a new scenario introduced every episode, but the lead character’s journey and the other character arcs evolve continuously. What I particularly enjoyed were the subjects chosen by director Deepak Kumar Mishra and writer Chandan Kumar, because they pretty much encompass relevant themes like the patriarchy that is very much dominant in rural areas still, the fragile male ego (a fun episode on family planning!), the dowry system, superstition, religious and caste-divide, the way Indians will go out of their way to be helpful, the chalta-hai and jugaad attitude, the 'gaaon ki izzat' issue, the one for all and all for one outlook, and a lot more.

These characters not only feel real, but are also endearing in that no one, even if they do something wrong, is actually bad. They’re all just people, who’ve been living their lives by a code that was ingrained in them by their ancestors, and they’ve never been told differently. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t adapt to modern ideas at all, as you’ll see over the course of the episodes.

Like I mentioned earlier, it takes a village to bring a show like Panchayat together. It is written quite well overall, and the dialogues reflect the simplicity of villagers, but at the same time, their unique way of looking at life and living it on their own terms, without aping the urban city next door. Both director Mishra and writer Singh have grasped that firmly and led the cast in the right direction. The actors, both Jitendra Kumar and Raghubir Yadav explained how the script was precise with its humour that they rarely had to improvise much. Both also come from small towns, and have therefore adapted the mannerisms of its people well.

Neena Gupta, despite being a splendid actress and the nominal Pradhan in the show, gets very little screen time. She’s at her best of course, but I wish she got some more meat to her role. I wonder if it was a conscious decision to keep her character on the sideline, considering that’s authentically what happens in rural India, where women are on the sidelines usually. The supporting cast is pretty decent too, and both Chandan Roy as Vikas and Faisal Malik as Prahlad are characters to watch out for! They’re endearing and even account for a lot of the laughs.

Jeetu bhaiyya plays the part of the confused city boy stranded in the village act well, but he takes a backseat for the most part, as other characters shine through. But the show, I’d say, is stolen by Raghubir Yadav. It is an absolute delight to watch this veteran actor infuse this character with something new, even though we have seen him play ‘villager’ roles in films like Peepli Live before.

The biggest takeaway from Panchayat is the way the flawed governance in India works, especially its leadership. The way the Pradhan abuses his power, feels less exploitative or cunning and more like an elder trying to get the family to do his bidding because he is old and senior. He gives 'lauki' and 'milk' as bribes and believes in settling matters with people in an amicable way rather than have confrontations.

In one episode, there is a beautiful parallel drawn between the importance of the 'Kursi' in governance, and how something so basic can become a matter of contention. Panchayat also highlights that it can be hard for a political leader like a Sarpanch, who has to preside over a village full of his own people, to take a decision. He can’t offend the people under him once he gives them his word, and he can’t stand up for what is right because he is afraid of offending his vote bank. And that right there, is the dilemma beautifully portrayed in Panchayat, and highlight with simple dialogues that don't 'hit' you, but gently remind you of something you already know.

All said and done, there is a road bump ahead. Panchayat isn't exactly an inferno that builds up into something. It's more like a slow burning flame that towards the end might sputter and extinguish without much fanfare. It might get a little drab once the novelty of all that's fun and good wears off. It gets a little pedantic then, which might drive away some people. But I don't see that as some major dealbreaker; I kind of expected it all throughout, so this was better.

Watch Panchayat because it might reintroduce you to rural India that revels in its uniqueness and eccentricities, and laughs at us urbanities who take ourselves too seriously. Watch it for its humour, acting and Raghubir Yadav, who we need to see more of now that OTT platforms have so much good content to offer. And watch it to understand that governance, whether on a village level, state level or national level, can throw such curveballs, that sometimes the only way to deal with it is to sit around a tree and talk it out over chai and petha!

Panchayat is currently streaming on Amazon Prime India.

Cover Artwork: Bhavya Poonia / Mashable India