List of Panchayat episodes
Panchayat is an Indian TV series,[1] created by The Viral Fever for Amazon Prime Video. Written by Chandan Kumar and directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, the show features Jitendra Kumar, Raghubir Yadav, Neena Gupta, Chandan Roy, Durgesh Kumar and Faisal Malik. It chronicles the life of an engineering graduate who joins as a panchayat secretary in a remote fictional village of Phulera in Uttar Pradesh due to lack of better job options. Panchayat premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 3 April 2020.[2]
Overview
[edit]Season 1 (2020)
[edit]No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Gram Panchayat Phulera" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 3 April 2020 | |
Abhishek Tripathi is a fresh engineering graduate who has not been placed in his final year. With only a job offer of a panchayat secretary, he tries to give it a shot as there is no other option left after graduating. He reaches Phulera and meets the former village chief (husband of the current village chief), the deputy chief and his office assistant. When Abhishek reaches Phulera, the doors of the panchayat office are locked and the keys missing. By the time the doors are opened (blown from the frame), the situation inside the office room turns him down. Abhishek decides that he needs to switch his job at the earliest and the only way to do so is by cracking the CAT (Common Admission Test) and taking admission in one of the IIMs. | |||||
2 | "Bhootha Ped" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 3 April 2020 | |
Abhishek, working as panchayat secretary, is also preparing for CAT after office hours. He has arranged for emergency lights as there is a power shutdown in the village every night. He plans to install a solar-powered light in the panchayat office from the total lights allotted. His plan is thwarted when one of the panchayat members suggests installing the light at a place called Bhootha Ped (haunted tree) which will help the sarpanch garner votes in the upcoming election. Abhishek now undertakes the mission to uncover the truth. | |||||
3 | "Chakke Wali Kursi" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 3 April 2020 | |
Abhishek buys a comfy revolving chair since working and studying in the crude plastic chairs proved quite uncomfortable. This chair soon becomes a bone of contention between him and the Pradhan, who feels diminished in the eyes of the people compared to Abhishek since he does not possess a fancy chair. The Pradhan hatches an elaborate plan to spirit the chair away from Abhishek, which culminates in Abhishek having to give away his chair to a disgruntled bridegroom to placate him for swearing at him. | |||||
4 | "Hamara Neta Kaisa Ho?" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 3 April 2020 | |
Abhishek is instructed by the BDO to put up family planning slogans. Since this is a pet project of the DM, he threatens him with disciplinary action if the work is not done on time. Abhishek gets the slogans painted and then walks around with Pradhan, Prahlad and Vikas to check on the work. The second slogan, "Do bacche meethi Kheer, do se jyaada bawaseer" compares children born, after the first two, to a case of piles which provokes a strong reaction among villagers who have more than 2 kids. This puts Pradhan in a tough position since they all threaten to vote against him at the next election and he has the slogan removed. Manju Devi calls out the Pradhan on his weak leadership. Pradhan sees a picture of Sardar Patel and gets inspired. He has Abhishek call a meeting of the ward and tells the gathering that he stands by the slogan. Prahlad and Vikas also support the Pradhan. Abhishek tells the Panchayat that they should tell anyone offended by the slogan that it is like a warning on a cigarette packet that is meant to offend and scare. Pradhan instructs Vikas to put the slogan back. After the meeting, the BDO calls Abhishek to tell him that the piles' slogan was not mandatory after a father of 6 in another village, offended by the slogan, burnt down the Panchayat office. Abhishek asks Pradhan if he wants to reconsider his decision but the Pradhan, inspired by Sardar Patel says that his decision is final. | |||||
5 | "Computer Nahi Monitor" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 3 April 2020 | |
Frustrated by the lack of nightlife in the village, Abhishek decides to drink beer but forgets to lock the door of his room and finds his monitor stolen from the panchayat office the next morning. A furious Pradhan reprimands Abhishek for being careless and asks him to find new accommodation. Abhishek and Prahlad lodge an FIR at the local police station. A police officer arrives later at the panchayat office and suspects Abhishek of stealing the monitor for money. The officer along with Pradhan and others interrogates an irritated Abhishek who then explains his frustration because of his village routine and lonely life. Abhishek's outburst convinces Pradhan of his innocence. That night, Pradhan arranges a party along with Prahlad and Vikas to cheer Abhishek up. The next morning, Abhishek finds his stolen monitor returned, with a note saying the monitor was mistaken for a television. | |||||
6 | "Bahot Hua Samman" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 3 April 2020 | |
Abhishek is having his photograph taken for the exam and Vikas gets into a verbal altercation with two men trying to sit on Abhishek's bike. The men threaten to "fix" him when he shows up to get his photos the next day. Vikas wants to involve Pradhan in this but Abhishek stops him. The next day when he goes to pick up his photos, the photographer says that since he got into a tussle with men from his village, he is supporting them and he has deleted his pics. The men call him at night to taunt him. Now Abhishek has to take Pradhan's help to resolve the matter. | |||||
7 | "Ladka Tez Hai Lekin.." | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 3 April 2020 | |
Pradhanji fixed his daughter's marriage to a guy whose family demanded 20 lakh rupees as dowry. When Pradhanji asked Abhishek about the situation he told him he won't take dowry from anyone even if he would get a good salary which impresses Pradhanji. Then he started testing Abhishek's ability whether he'll crack the CAT examination or not, meanwhile a couple is fighting over their son's name which Abhishek suggested. Finally, Pradhanji decided to ask Abhishek about marriage by letting her daughter choose any finger between the two, The same way the arguing couple decides their son's name. But, on the day of the examination, Pradhanji and Vikas found that Abhishek's exam had not gone well. So he has no option but to change his decision. | |||||
8 | "Jab Jaago Tabhi Savera" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 3 April 2020 | |
Abhishek is not in a good mood even after 2 months of his CAT examination, Vikas tries to cheer him up. Abhishek vents out all his frustrations on him and later apologizes. Somedays before Republic Day Manju Devi taunts Abhishek for not clearing the CAT examination, where he taunts back as Manju Devi is the actual Sarpanch but, every year Pradhanji hosted the flag ceremony. This prompted Manju Devi to learn the National anthem of India as she decided to host the flag ceremony, but fails to remember the National anthem. On the day of Republic Day, the District Magistrate notices the banner as Pradhanji is the Sarpanch and decides to go as an inquiry, where she is about to suspend Abhishek. Manju Devi arrives. Then she hosted the flag ceremony and everyone celebrates. Abhishek realised his mistake and decided to try one more year for the CAT examination. At last, he climbs on the water tank as his colleagues suggested earlier to fall in love with the village, where he meets Rinki, the daughter of Pradhanji as the episode comes to an end. It is hinted that Abhishek is attracted towards Rinki, which confirms the saying that he would indeed fall in love. |
Season 2 (2022)
[edit]No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Naach" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 18 May 2022 | |
Prahlad and Vikas suspect that Abhishek and Rinki are involved with each other, based on Abhishek's unusual happiness after drinking tea on the water tanker. Meanwhile, at the pond digging site, soil is being dug out to be sold to Parmeshwar but Pradhan is not able to negotiate well because of his closeness with Parmeshwar. Abhishek comes up with a plan to make Manju Devi bargain instead of Pradhan since she's very blunt and a better negotiator. After the negotiations, Parmeshwar realises the plan and confronts them and leaves abruptly. In an effort to save the deal, Abhishek, Prahlad & Vikas go to his factory to look for him and eventually find him at the local dance. During the dance, Parmeshwar finds out that one of the two dancers is a man in disguise, and that makes the crowd go berserk and ends up hurting the other dancer in the subsequent violence. Just as the trio reaches the dance, Parmeshwar asks them to help out the girl who had been injured, Abhishek is tasked to take her to the dispensary. When the girl points out that he is actually reluctant to continue with a job he doesn't like, Abhishek dismisses Vikas and Prahlad, who abandon the thought of Abhishek being involved with Rinki. | |||||
2 | "Bol Chaal Band" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 18 May 2022 | |
Due to lagging village development work, Bhushan stands up against Pradhan due to his past grudge and questions Abhishek about his loyalty, labelling him a bootlicker. Abhishek consults his friend Siddharth, who advises him to maintain distance from Pradhan. Later Bhushan catches Abhishek at the temple while he is taking signatures from Manju Devi. Pradhan doubts Abhishek after being ignored and rushes to the office to know the truth. Pradhan invites Abhishek to Rinki's birthday celebration. There, he reveals how Bhushan troubled him. Later, Abhishek confronts Bhushan, who flees after Pradhan, Prahlad and Vikas confront him. | |||||
3 | "Kranti" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 18 May 2022 | |
Even as the installation of toilets takes place in the village at his behest, Abhishek receives word from the BDO that the DM would be visiting Phulera since somebody has tipped off her office that the village was falsely accorded an open-defaecation-free status. With Pradhan, Vikas and Prahlad on alert, the gang soon learns that Bhushan has instigated a rebellion through a man who unfortunately couldn't get a toilet installed at his home. Abhishek tasks Vikas and Prahlad with the prevention of the rebellion, fully aware that Bhushan could misuse Pradhan's lack of public hygiene against the gang. | |||||
4 | "Tension" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 18 May 2022 | |
An anti-alcoholism public announcement car is to go through the village but Vikas and Abhishek discover that the driver himself is heavily drunk. Despite insisting that he will be fine, he skids off the road and they are forced to take him to the panchayat office. They are unable to call either Prahlad, whose son Rahul, an army officer posted in Kashmir, is in town on a holiday, or Pradhan ji, who is meeting Rinki's prospective groom and his family at lunch, for help. Due to confusion about the venue, Pradhan Ji's family and the groom's family end up in different restaurants and despite having made a prior reservation, Pradhan is told to come to the other place and the groom's family ends up insulting him. They decide to leave, realizing marrying Rinki into that family will be a mistake as they do not respect them. Meanwhile, Abhishek and Vikas try to sober up the driver, who later says that he doesn't earn enough and warns Abhishek of the same alcoholic fate. At the end of the day, the gang ends up drinking anyway and lightens up, while the driver sobers up and leaves. | |||||
5 | "Jaise Ko Taisa" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 18 May 2022 | |
Abhishek gets CCTV cameras installed in a few corners of Phulera. A farmer tries to use the camera recordings in order to trace his missing goat. Fate seems to have a trick up their sleeve, though, when Manju Devi mistakenly switches her slippers with those of Bhushan's wife Kranti. Bhushan threatens Abhishek and Vikas with an FIR on grounds of "blatant abuse of power" upon seeing the goof-up, and the duo visit Pradhan and Manju, requesting them to settle the matter. While there, Abhishek realizes that Bhushan has been scheming to report the gang in complete reliance on the CCTV footage. He then stages a plot to return the slippers to Kranti in a polybag, but it hits her head; while Abhishek angrily deletes the footage on seeing through Bhushan's notorious designs in the presence of the group, everyone is forced to visit Pradhan's house all of a sudden whence it turns out that Manju Devi had a scuffle with Kranti; the latter threatens to run for office next year, even pulling Abhishek, who is clearly on the side of the Pradhan's family. | |||||
6 | "Aukaat" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 18 May 2022 | |
A desperate Pradhan Ji makes an attempt to fulfil his biggest election promise of building a healthy road on the highway link. The local MLA, Chandra Kishore Singh, sends Pradhan, Prahlad and Vikas to a protest over the rails. The trio gets arrested in the process, and Abhishek bails them out. They make plans to invite the MLA to Phulera for voter support. Chandra Kishore, however, is unimpressed and swears harshly at Abhishek when he tries to defend the trio's release, claiming that the MLA would have earned some publicity in exchange for the funds Pradhan demanded to construct the road. Abhishek, feeling disturbed, eventually calms down after Rinki texts him, asking him to let go. | |||||
7 | "Dost Yaar" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 18 May 2022 | |
Siddharth decides to surprise Abhishek by visiting Phulera for a day. Meanwhile, Prahlad, Vikas and Pradhan Ji collect funds for the 3-day kirtan planned in the village. Eventually bored, the group decides to have beer in the fields. While there, the topic of inviting the MLA to a religious congregation comes up, which Abhishek takes strong exception to, revealing how he was hurt due to Pradhan Ji not standing up for him when the MLA abused him and reminding him of the times he has stood up for him; he loudly wonders whether Pradhan Ji even truly considers him a friend, and leaves with Siddharth abruptly. Later, the two of them decide to have a beer anyway, only to discover a snake there. They call Prahlad, Vikas and Pradhan Ji for help and they arrive promptly, scouring the office and concluding the snake has left. Later Pradhan Ji hosts them both for the night, and Abhishek reconciles with him, saying he is fine with the MLA visiting. | |||||
8 | "Parivaar" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 18 May 2022 | |
Pradhan prepares for the religious congregation, donating Rs.20000. Bhushan, after knowing Pradhan is boasting about his donation for politics, decides to provide his tent services for free. Meanwhile, the gang decides to have a beer in the office left from the other day. Siddharth also joins the gang via a video call. Prahlad is suddenly cut short through a call informing him that Rahul is martyred. A wave of sorrow engulfs Phulera, with Bhushan and Kranti also abandoning their vendetta against Pradhan and Manju Devi in the process. Upon learning that Chandra Kishore would be visiting Phulera for a sympathy tribute, Pradhan instructs Manju Devi, who, with assistance from Kranti and the women of the village, succeeds in blocking his convoy; Manju Devi then tells him that he has no right to pay any respects to Rahul after disrespecting Prahlad, his father and that he must go back to where he came from. As he reels from the blow to his ego, Chandra Kishore assumes that Abhishek is the reason behind all this and vengefully vows to have him transferred. Meanwhile, Prahlad is heartbroken as the villagers assemble for a funeral. After remaining aloof and alone for 3 days, Prahlad is visited by Pradhan, Vikas and Abhishek. As Prahlad breaks into tears, Pradhan, Vikas and Abhishek comfort and console him. The episode ends with a post-credits scene wherein Manju Devi and Rinki receive a letter and, on opening and reading it, conclude that it is a transfer order for Abhishek, who is unaware, just akin to the women, that it is under duress from Chandra Kishore. |
Season 3 (2024)
[edit]No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Rangbaazi" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 28 May 2024 | |
Pradhanji's desperate attempt to prevent Abhishek's impending transfer intensifies the conflict between the Pradhanji's supporters and the new secretary who has arrived in the village touting the MLAs support . Bhushan with his cronies Vinod and Madhav try to help the new secretary setup. A grieving Prahlad finds it difficult to make peace with his new reality. The MLA gets arrested on charges of slaughtering and eating a dog and the panchayat uses this to throw out the new secretary and bring back Abhishek. | |||||
2 | "Gaddha" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 28 May 2024 | |
Abhishek returns with the resolve of staying away from the village politics. Fearing the loss of public reputation, Pradhan and Manju Devi need Abhishek's help to handle a rebel. | |||||
3 | "Ghar Ya Eent-Patthar?" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 28 May 2024 | |
After Bhushan senses an opportunity to attack Pradhan, Abhishek jumps into damage control mode. Prahlad doesn't like the way Pradhan uses Abhishek for political benefit. Prahlad shows an elderly village woman the importance of family in her last years. | |||||
4 | "Atma Manthan" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 28 May 2024 | |
The final blow to Pradhan's reputation comes after he gets accused of partiality in a welfare scheme implementation. Meanwhile, Bhushan allies with the MLA to topple Pradhan's rule. A rift develops between the residents of the eastern and western halves of the village . | |||||
5 | "Shanti Samjhauta" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 28 May 2024 | |
Manju Devi reluctantly agrees to Bhushan's proposal of entering into a peace agreement with the MLA. Abhishek too gives his nod as it's impossible to get the road built without MLA's support. The MLA provides specific instructions to the village for the day of his arrival in the village, including a peculiar request to release a dove as a peace symbol. Abhishek and Vikas go to local Bam Bahadur for the bird and find he only has pigeons and decide to make do with it. The MLA arrives on the day of the truce to smooth things over with his daughter. He deliberately sidelines Manju Devi and Pradhan in favour of Bhushan's squad. As he is about to release the pigeon with Bhushan, the pigeon dies, engraging Bam Bahadur who calls the MLA a killer of animals, causing him to flee the village in a panic. | |||||
6 | "Chingaari" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 28 May 2024 | |
To fix their dented image, the Pradhan gang sets a trap to capitalize on a lethal mistake committed by the MLA. Amidst all the political chaos, an unexpected news brings joy to the Pradhan gang. The Pradhan shows his ability to unify the village in order to protect one of their own from the MLA's threats. | |||||
7 | "Shola" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 28 May 2024 | |
The MLA puts out a hit on one of the village residents. The village retaliates against the MLA's actions by planning on buying his horse under false pretenses - through Parmeshwar's son-in-law. | |||||
8 | "Hamla" | Deepak Kumar Mishra | Chandan Kumar | 28 May 2024 | |
Finally, Pradhan rallies the whole Phulera behind him to fight one last battle for glory. Abhishek finds himself too deep into the murky waters of village politics and loses his objectivity. The MLA is persuaded by the District Magistrate and Assembly Speaker to drop the matter. Finally, unknown gunmen attempt to kill the Pradhan. He survives and is admitted to the hospital. An angry Abhishek fights the MLA and his goons when they visit the hospital. The episode ends with all of them detained by the police. |
References
[edit]- ^ Cyril, Grace. "Amazon Prime Video releases Panchayat Season 2 ahead of the premiere date. Is this why?". India Today. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
- ^ "Watch the Trailer for TVF's Panchayat, Out in April on Prime Video". NDTV Gadgets 360. 30 March 2020. Archived from the original on 31 August 2023. Retrieved 2020-04-08.