Panchayat Season 3: Abhishek and Rinki's slowburn romance, a white horse, Banrakas Bhushan's new schemes, gun violence and approaching elections

Panchayat Season 3 review: In the new season of TVF Panchayat on Amazon Prime Video, we see Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) coming into her own as an elected leader of the people. (Images courtesy Prime Video)

"Ab safed kabootar kahaan se milega (where will we find a white dove)?" Phulera Panchayat Secretary Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar) asks exasperatedly in one of the eight episodes of 'Panchayat Season 3', coming to Amazon Prime Video on May 28.

It's the perfect example of inconsequential things that acquire great significance in the context of village life and village politics in this OTT series. Here, satisfying the egos of important men (and it is usually the men whose egos need pacifying) is a mind-bending task for city boy Abhishek who finds himself more and more entrenched in village life as the months go by.

Panchayat Season 3 cast: Rinki (Sanvikaa) with her parents Pradhan Brij Bhushan Dubey (Raghubir Yadav) and Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) in season 3 of Panchayat on Prime Video.

Panchayat Season 3 review: short version

The ensemble cast of Panchayat are back with their antics, taking the story forward at village-life pace. (If you're holding your breath for news of Rinki [Sanvikaa] and Abhishek's relationship to progress quickly, then don't. Rinki takes the initiative in Season 3, but the going is slow and stuttering.)

The biggest transformations we see this season are in Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) who is really starting to come into her own as the elected Pradhan of Phulera; Prahlad Pandey (Faisal Malik) whose grief following the death of his son Rahul threatens to drown him; and, surprisingly, Ganesh (Aasif Khan)—remember Raveena's prickly groom from Season 1 who took umbrage at Abhishek's reluctance to wait on him hand and foot at the Panchayat office?

Panchayat Seasons 1 and 2 were massive hits. And Season 3 follows in the same footsteps. Expect village squabbles to escalate and hurt egos to deepen political rivalries. The homegrown "Banrakas" of Panchayat, Bhushan (Durgesh Kumar), will again hatch schemes that seek to upset the peace and install him at the head of power in Phulera. MLA Chandrakishore Singh whom we saw as a self-serving, pompous politician in Season 2, takes on more sinister tones now.

In terms of tone and tenor, director Deepak Kumar Mishra's show maintains its USP. The village folks' squabbles are at once personal and universal. The language and landscape of the village are immersive, as are the many stories that seem to branch off at different points to come together in the end. A shoutout, also, for the title song and the background score, which keep bringing us back to the reasons we watch the show: to get a gently comedic glimpse into life in one of India's 664,000-plus villages.

Panchayat Season 3 cast: Bhushan aka Banrakas (Durgesh Kumar) and MLA Chandra Kishore Singh aka Vidhaayak ji (Pankaj Jha) in season 3 of Panchayat on Prime Video.

Panchayat on Prime Video recap

TVF's Panchayat is returning to OTT after two long years. And Panchayat Season 3 picks up where Panchayat Season 2 (release date: May 20, 2022) had left off: Phulera Panchayat Secretary Abhishek whose transfer orders had come at the end of Season 2, has been assigned a new village: Bhaypura. He's irritable and can't quite explain the reason to his cousin in the city who wants him to quit his job and focus on his MBA prep. Abhishek is itching to return to Phulera, though, and to a certain someone who climbs up to the water tank to enjoy her tea in peace. Of course, Abhishek returns to Phulera. But that takes up all of Episode 1.

At the start of Season 3, we also find Prahlad Pandey mourning the death of his son Rahul on an army mission (which also came to light in Season 2).

And the conflict with Vidhayak Chandrakishore Singh (Pankaj Jha) that had worsened after Phulera residents prevented the MLA from offering homage to the fallen soldier Rahul in Season 2, grows violent this season.

Panchayat Season 3 cast: Neena Gupta as Manju Devi in season 3 of Panchayat on Prime Video has one of more pronounced character arcs across the three seasons.

Panchayat Season 3 plot

In Season 3 of Panchayat, the plot and pace mirror the last two seasons where non-issues grow to epic proportions and issues of real import—like building the village road—are stuck in a quagmire of personal and political powerplays.

As with previous seasons, the plot of Panchayat Season 3 meanders till the threads come together one by one.

Without giving away too much, this season sees the conflict between MLA Chandrakishore Singh aka Vidhayakji and Phulera Pradhanpati Brij Bhushan Dubey growing violent.

Rinki and Abhishek still like each other, but their love story advances in jerks and spurts this season with no help at all from a clueless Abhishek.

Vidhayak ji is hauled to court for animal cruelty and things get worse after he visits Phulera for a peace meeting.

As with seasons past, there are smaller plots within the larger story and nods to government schemes too. Most notably, an old woman who cons her way into getting a home under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, gives it up after a health scare makes her realize what she's missing by pushing her family away.

Manju Devi is much more assured in her recommendations as Panchayat Pradhan Phulera this season. Banrakas Bhushan and his wife, of course, seek to provoke. But they are less effective with Manju Devi present at all Panchayat meetings and events now.

And in Season 3, a white horse is bought, pompously named Hind ka Sitara or Sitara Singh, and resold under extraordinary circumstances.

Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar) plays a CAT aspirant working as the secretary of a village Panchayat to gather meaningful work experience for his MBA interview.

Panchayat Season 3 pace

Directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, Panchayat seems to always take its time to develop emotion and context. For instance, in Season 3, Prahlad's grief stretches over several episodes but eventually becomes the catalyst for another resolution.

Indeed, Mishra has also set an expectation that no matter how random something in the show feels at the moment, it eventually ties back into the story and the ethos. To rephrase Anton Chekov, he seems to work by the axiom: "If in the first episode you have shown us a white horse, then in the following episodes there must be a circus around who gets to own it."

Prahlad Pandey (Faisal Malik), Vikas (Chandan Roy), Abhishek Tripathi (Jitendra Kumar, Pradhan Brij Bhushan (Raghubir Yadav), and Manju Devi (Neena Gupta) in Panchayat Season 3.

Panchayat Season 3 humour

The humour in the series often arises from petty politics and the clash of village culture (often through Vikas, played by a brilliant Chandan Roy) with city expectations (represented by Abhishek). That continues to be the case in Season 3. For instance, bottle gourd (lauki/ghiya) is still the gift of choice of the Pradhan-pati despite protests from Abhishek as well as the Vidhayak (in Season 2).

In Season 3, a lot of the humour also arises from the Vidhayak's inflated sense of self. The white dove he demands to mark his peace deal with Phulera is supposed to be a symbolic gesture that backfires to disastrous effect. Things between the Pradhan and Vidhayak seem to have soured to a point of no return, except maybe as a political exigency!

Bhushan and his wife's (Sunita Rajwar) argumentative politicking continues to be a source of mirth this season, as do Vikas's good-natured antics and long-winded explanations.

A still from Panchayat Season 3. The show is set in a UP village called Phulera.

Panchayat Season 3 significance

Panchayat had burst upon the OTT scene at a time when on-screen depictions of village swung from idyllic (fields of yellow mustard flowers a la Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge) to gritty crime sinks (a la Gangs of Wasseypur). In Panchayat, we got something starker, barer, albeit with a comic twist.

In Panchayat Season 3, we see more of the same. Even as Abhishek assimilates more deeply into this community, the dusty potholed paths seem dustier and more pothole-y.

There are still big and small niggles and egos clash in unexpected ways as life goes on in the village this season. Bhushan—still called a Banrakas for his devious ways—and his wife want to be seen as the engineers of a peace with the MLA, and oust Manju Devi and Pradhanji from positions of power in the Panchayat. Bhushan even tries to split the village into the more prosperous west and the ignored east. It all comes to nought, as it usually does.

Abhishek Tripathi returning to Phulera

Panchayat Season 3 ending explained

Towards the end of this season, Abhishek is all set to take the CAT again. There is gun violence. Someone gets hurt, and everyone pronounces that the escalation in violence is a sign that elections are around the corner.

Indeed, with this ending, the whole of Season 3 feels like an elaborate set-up for Season 4. Will Manju Devi come back as Pradhan? Or will Bhushan's wife steal the show? Will Rinki and Abhishek take their relationship forward? Will Prahlad find a proper use for the Rs 50 lakh he got for his martyred son? Will Abhishek crack the CAT, and will he come back to Phulera again? We must wait for Panchayat Season 4 for answers.