Panchayat: Women pack a punch

India Today

a day ago

(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated July 7, 2025)Few can claim to be 'India's most loved show' and get away with it. The Viral Fever's Panchayat is that rare show which does have the bragging rights. Packed with wry observations on everyday life and human behaviour in the hinterland and memorable characters, the Amazon Prime Video series has entered its fourth season, an incredible feat in itself. Actor Neena Gupta credits the writing of Chandan Kumar and the work put in by director Deepak Kumar Mishra. 'Season after season, they do something special. I wait for the script. I don't know how they do it,' she says. 'We don't need to improvise; sab kuchh milta hai [everything's there in the script itself].' She further attributes apt casting for the show's success, which has seen actors become synonymous with their parts, with some even featuring in viral memes (type Binod, Bhushan and Bam Bahadur in Google and get ready for laughs).advertisementOne such character to have struck a chord is the mean confrontational machine that's Kranti Devi, played by the talented Sunita Rajwar. 'Wherever you are from, people love Panchayat because you can watch it with your family,' she says.'Saral hai. Smart banne ki koshish nahin hai [It's simple. They don't try to be oversmart]. They show things with respect,' adds Gupta on the TVF formula that has seen it generate hit shows like Kota Factory, The Aspirants and Pitchers.
Panchayat's fourth run puts the women in the spotlight: Rinki ki Mummy a.k.a. Manju Devi (Gupta) and Kranti Devi battle it out in the elections. Further proof of the ladies' growing stature are the promotional posters where Manju brandishes her election symbol, the gourd, while Kranti holds the pressure cooker.'This time, I have become interested in the elections and in doing things,' says Gupta. 'The seed was sown in the earlier seasons when characters have asked why I don't do anything.' If Manju Devi takes more initiative in the quest to retain her seat, Kranti is a rookie largely following the questionable footsteps of her husband, the ever-entertaining Bhushan a.k.a. Banrakas (Durgesh Kumar). 'I don't know any better,' says Rajwar of her character. 'For the first time, she is getting importance. She is going to the vidhayak's house, who in turn is playing the bigger game as he knows we are upset with Pradhaan-ji and company. But most of the major planning is done by the three [Bhushan, Binod and Madhav].'advertisementIt's one thing to be part of pop culture conversations, another to catalyse societal change. Such is the show's influence that the ministry of panchayati raj recently roped in members of the cast to shoot small skits where Gupta's Manju Devi is the elected representative calling the shots, and not her husband. 'There are seats where women win but it's the husbands who run the show,' says Gupta. 'But I have decided I will do this. To be part of an initiative that encourages and inspires other women is special.'Gupta was an inspiration to Rajwar herself. Like her, she too studied at the National School of Drama (NSD). 'The first time I saw a celebrity was when she visited the NSD campus. I remember she was wearing a lovely red outfit,' says Rajwar. 'We used to all look up to her. So in awe was I that I couldn't even go and talk to her.' Soon their paths would align in then Bombay as Rajwar arrived to kick off her acting career. The duo would first work in a play, Surya ki Antim Kiran se Surya ki Pahali Kiran Tak. 'She is the first person who ensured we were paid well for rehearsals and the play,' says Rajwar. 'Every time I was down [professionally], something worked out with her.' Rajwar would work as an assistant creative head in Gupta's production house and managed her daughter, Masaba, for a year.advertisement'Kaam hi toh karna hai [One just has to work],' says Gupta of her role in assisting Rajwar in her professional journey. 'She has done a lot. Koi bhi kaam chhota nahin hota [No work is small]. She is proof that if you work hard and consistently, you will reach where she has. She has been to Cannes.' Rajwar plays a key part in India-set UK drama Santosh, which was the UK's submission to the best international film category at the Oscars. But it's her work in the TVF shows, Gullak and Panchayat, that has made Rajwar a familiar face. 'They have changed my life,' she says.Subscribe to India Today Magazine- Ends