Mohan Dangaura
Abstract
With an ever-increasing number of
violent and bloodthirsty revengeful web series streaming largely on digital
platforms, The Viral Fever’s (TVF) Panchayat stands as an anti-stream presentation to
undercut the popular notion of Indian web series. Opposite to the popular
method of producing series loaded with regional abusive languages, violence,
murder, sexually explicit content, Panchayat presents a serene picture of the inner story of rural life. When using only disturbing contents have
become the major spice to get your show hit, Panchayat takes the simple way of rural folks’ life to make us nostalgic about
what we have lost in the course of being modern. In analyzing the negative
consequences of capitalist consumer culture Dominick Strinati in In An Introduction
to Theories of Popular Culture
counterattacks urban community and its morality declaring that such urban
morality breaks down in the time of capitalism, and individuals become
isolated, alienated, and anomic, caught up in increasingly financial and
contractual social relationships. Therefore, how Panchayat not only reveals rural subculture but also
alters the art and genre of movie production in Bollywood becomes the central issue of my paper.
Keywords:
Panchayat, Web series, Archetypes, Bollywood, Rural Culture
Streamed
on Amazon Prime Video, The Viral Fever’s (TVF) comedy-drama web series Panchayat explores modern-day rural
India. Unlike popular methods of
producing series loaded with regional abusive languages, violence, murder,
sexually explicit content, Panchayat
presents a serene picture of the inner story of rural life. When using such
disturbing content has become the major spice to get your show hit, Panchayat takes the simple way of rural
folks’ life to catch our attention during this pandemic. It not only presents
the story in a humorous way, but it also makes us nostalgic about what we have lost
in the course of being modern. The story compels you through the narratives of
rural lifestyles and non-hectic living style of villagers. Thus, Panchayat has been able to break the
notion of the popular method of relishing audiences with petty simple
narratives of commonly understood as a subculture in our subcontinent. Hence,
examining the impact and popularity of rural subculture in our daily behavior
to aware us about the value of emotional attachment becomes a topic to be
discussed.
The story starts with an engineering passed student; Abhishek Tripathi landing on Phulera gram panchayat in Balia district of Uttar Pradesh. Like many of Abhishek’s friends, he has also an ambition to be an MBA corporate acquiring nearly one lakh salary per month. However, he remains unsuccessful in cracking the CAT (Common Admission Test) exam for admission in IIM (Indian Institute of Management). Therefore, he goes low profile government job as Village Secretary (Sachib) which would fill his one year gap and make his experience more competitive.
Mukulika
Banerjee writes that recent cinematic representations of rural India have been
awash with blood and caste politics, confirming Ambedkar’s famous
characterization of villages as ‘dens of vice’. On the other hand, Gandhian
characterizations of villages as the real heart of India have always been met
with skepticism by dynamic urban Indians. The truth is, recent films and plays
have rarely been set in rural India; the villager has simply vanished from
national popular culture and even our stalwarts who wrote so eloquently for and
against villages, had scarcely lived in one themselves. Panchayat took us right inside one. Sreeparna Sengupta writes “What
keeps Panchayat ticking are the well-timed dialogues and situations that keep
you chuckling all along.” There are no big dramatic moments but it’s the slice
of life treatment interjected with humor and its background tracks that score
big. And ultimately it’s the performances by a stellar cast and the writing
(Chandan Kumar) which aptly captures the essence of rural life that are the
trump cards here. The characters with their quirks balance each other well
while being realistic and thankfully not one dimensional.
Ruchi Kaushal writes, “One thing that definitely
catches the eye is the camera work. The aerial shots and low angles add a
magical touch to the cinematography, which could otherwise look dull and faded
amid the empty fields and irregular skyline.” Review on the scroll.in writes on
Kumar’s optical expression arguing that Kumar’s expressive eyes convey
something else too – the believable exasperation at being plonked (to pluck or
hit so as to produce a quick, hollow, metallic, or harsh sound) in the middle
of nowhere, and the gradual realization that Abhishek might be getting
somewhere after all. Neel Gudka writes “Panchayat is a comedy-drama about an
individual born and raised in the city, who must deal with the ordeals of life
in rural India.” The dynamics of the village are shown through Abhishek’s eyes.
The place is badly governed and he must face tricky challenges in the course of
his work. Everyone around him is nothing but kind and gracious, but he is far
too absorbed in self-pity to acknowledge it. The creators succeeded in
delivering an authentic portrayal of rural life. The village folk is simple
with a flair for prolonged small talk. Life here is evidently slow. Though
good-natured, they are often quick to take offense for the most trivial of
matters. And on major occasions, they pitch in to help out, displaying a strong
sense of community. “The great thing about Kumar’s writing here is that he
treats his characters like real people and their arcs progress naturally”
(rollingstoneindia.com). The study of popular culture can be seen to offer
revelations about matters such as the myths that drive us: the unconscious
tensions and contradictions that bedevil us: our assumptions about the human
condition, the nature of man and society, and the nature of the good life: the
ways we are moved from one level of knowledge, awareness, or consciousness to
another; and the kinds of messages our society communicates to our unconscious.
Understanding such matters helps us comprehend how the individual and society
interact and evolve.
Popular
culture can thus be life-affirming life-enhancing. And its study can be a
productive response to the Socratic admonition - "Know Thyself' - and to
its corollary - "Know Thy Society." John G. Cawelti writes that the
development of the electronic media has changed our culture by their capacity
to record performances almost as much as through their potential for
instantaneous and simultaneous transmission to a huge mass audience (5). With
the new media's capacity to record it is now possible to manipulate and control
not only form and content but performance. He seems to embody in some essential
fashion the values and attitudes of the ordinary person (ibid.: 6) Popular art
must have the qualities of simplicity, familiarity, and strong impact to
succeed. When appropriately cast, the star helps the audience to interpret and
respond to the work more readily and perhaps more deeply than would be possible
through the medium of language or music. The physical presence of the star
gives the story greater ease of comprehension and emotional impact.
Abhishek
uses this job as the more skill addition tactics in his biodata. As the movie
opens up, we notice Abhishek in a bus constantly asking the conductor about his
appointed village Phulera. The conductor doesn’t reply to him first but as
Abhishek keeps on asking, he says “You’re asking for the 18th time. I will let
you when we get there. We don’t abduct you” (Episode 1, 1:1). And as the
destination arrives; he wakes Abhishek from dodging on his seat. From the very
beginning, simplicity, humbleness, and peaceful working habit could be noticed
from the conductor. The over anxiousness of Abhishek’s suspicion on rural folks
tries to hint him at the slow responsiveness about them. But the point he
misses out is about the sure responsiveness, rural dwellers’ naturalistic way
of living life. From the very beginning, we can see Abhishek’s dissatisfaction
with the job of Sachib accumulating just 20,000 a month. But since he has no
other options for financial support to sustain the basic life and crack his CAT
(Common Aptitude Test) exams. Using the job of Secretary as a bet to make the
road to IIM clearer, finally, Abhishek decides to take this job.
Another
important aspect of performance in popular culture is nicely defined by Hall
and Whannel in The Popular Arts. They point out that the popular arts achieve
much of their ready comprehensibility through their high degree of
conventionality. One can readily observe that in these areas of the popular
arts it is the performer rather than the composer or lyricist who is known and
loved by the public and who tends to receive the greatest celebrity and
remuneration for his work. The performer transforms conventional works of art
into unique forms of expression (ibid.: 7). Cawelti further emphasizes
performance claiming it to be a form of role-playing and this is a basic
concept of modern psychology and social psychology (11).
Gary
L. Harmon defines popular culture as the arts, rituals and events, myths and
beliefs, and artifacts widely shared by a significant portion of a group of
people at a specific time (4). Modern technology, from cheap, high-speed
printing to radio, film computer-transmission of light and sound, has brought about
not only ever-larger audiences but also more creators of popular culture
experiences. Popular culture also provides role models. Society's standards for
good and bad behavior or for the best selves that persons might be are acted
out in our books, TV shows, advertising, films, comics, sports, and arts.
Tanisha
Bagchi in her review writes, “The panchayat secretary is not just a post - it’s
a gaze of the privileged, urban dweller towards the ‘real India’, one that
Bollywood has fed him/her through the ages.” Bidding adieu to the romanticized
lens of rural India, the TVF show revels in the simpler pleasures of a life
devoid of glitz and glamour. All the characters are unique in themselves, and
not for once do we feel that they have been reduced to caricatures.
The
same aerial view of Phulera in almost every episode warns us of a staggering
pace, but the quiet monotony of a place tucked inside a huge state opens a box
of stories about trust, friendship, comfort, and happiness. Shilajit Mitra in
her review writes that Phulera’s self-reliance helps Abhishek find his own. It
plays out in unexpected ways: a verbal standoff with a groom, a tiff over a
family-planning drive. There are neat touches: Raghuvir Yadav looking at a
picture of Sardar Patel before taking a strong-willed call. Neena Gupta’s
homebound matriarch is a fun character, sharper and wittier than her husband.
The show, however, keeps her benched till the end, which makes narrative sense
but does not justify the talent at hand. When Abhishek enters his new workplace
for the first time, he is greeted by the words: “Thokar lagti hai toh dard hota
hai, tabhi manusya seekh pata hai.” Life’s greatest lessons are learned through
pain. It takes him an entire year to fully grasp its message. Till then, the words
remain just a taunt.
In
contrast to our presumptions and stereotypes, the movie moves to the point and
has nothing to sow about the pastoral experience of the village. The only thing
movie is more concerned about is the tussle of perceptions of goal in life and
way of life between rural-urban people. The intellectual face of emerges as
soon as the screen takes us to the meeting of the village working Pradhan
(Chairperson) Brij Bhusan Dubey, official deputy president Prahlad and office
assistant Vikas. The story revolves basically around these four people. Though
the real presidency goes to Manju Devi (wife of Dubey) due to the government’s
actions to behest female participation in administrative power function, Dubey
cleverly has become the executive president subjugating his wife.
Living
with corona lockdown has taught us the value of remote isolation and its
independency. It has further become the symbol of existential shelter on the
fact that thousands of people have migrated back to their villages to live.
But, the interesting twist in the movie comes when the collective consciousness
of rural India works as a non-hero myth going against the urban belief
of being self powerful individualistic. As a newly appointed secretary,
Abhishek encounters anti-urban intellectual ideologies. His city friend Prateek
motivates him saying “You’re only highlighting the negatives. Focus on the
positive as well. Get firsthand experience of rural India” (Episode 1, 3:14).
Therefore, how his mode of individualistic self alters gradually with the story
becomes the point to interpret and reflect.
Harmon
furthermore discusses the social impact of popular culture on consumers from
their role models (10). By its attention to hero figures, popular culture
becomes a major means for introducing new values, attitudes, or lifestyles. It
is through popular culture that the emphasis upon "togetherness" or
companionship has been promoted in an age that has increasingly isolated the
individual (ibid.: 11). Another way in which popular culture often helps the
individuals well as society is through what might be regarded as its
consciousness-raising capacity (Harmon 12). It helps society to survive with
greater social stability and harmony through a shared consciousness. Popular
culture can also offer a kind of comfort and security to the individual, thus
performing a therapeutic function. Dominic Strinati writes “The fantasies and
happiness, the resolutions and reconciliations, offered by popular music and
film make people realize how much their real lives lack these qualities and
thus how much they remain unfulfilled and unsatisfied” (63). Personal and
social tensions and misunderstandings that arise from ambiguous attitudes can
often be resolved by popular culture.
In
analyzing the negative consequences of capitalist consumer culture Strinati
writes “Community and morality break down, and individuals become isolated,
alienated and anomic, caught up in increasingly financial and contractual
social relationships (9). In the age of global capitalism, an individual always
suffers from a lack of financial success and tries to change his skills and
possession into the best of exchange value worth for capital. Abhishek tries to
relocate himself into the arena of city corporate with a high paying job that
revolves around the mega projects and Silicon Valley. It will at least fulfill
his search for compensation as being graduated from a good college. Marx
distinguished between the exchange value and use-value of the commodities
circulating in capitalist societies. Exchange value refers to the money that a
commodity can command on the market, the price it can be bought and sold for,
while use value refers to the usefulness of the good for the consumer, its
practical value or utility as a commodity (Strinati 51). People who live in
capitalist societies think they are free but they are deluding themselves. They
are not free, autonomous, independent human beings, consciously thinking for
themselves. Rather their freedom is restricted to the freedom to choose between
different consumer goods or different brands of the same good, or between
political parties who in fact look and sound the same. The false needs of
consumer and voter choice offered by advertising and parliamentary democracy
suppress the real needs for useful products and genuine political freedom.
Pradhan’s
request to his wife to let Abhishek stay in his house instead of his office
remarks his caring character. Though at first, his motives may seem doubtful
appearing to win the favor of the newly appointed secretary, as the plot
unfolds we succumb to no such motives. But Manju Devi’s straight rejection for
they have a young marriageable daughter and allowing her husband to let
Abhishek break the lock shows the concern in a bit different way, “Invite him
to dinner and let them break the lock” (Episode 1, 25:11). During the same
struggle in finding the key to the lock, Vikas asks permission to go and call a
locksmith to break it. At that moment, he unhesitantly asks Secretary’s bike
key but returns with neither the man for the job nor the bike in good
condition. Vikas explains the accident and cause of the broken sidelight of the
bike. Again the good thing about the incident comes with Pradhan’s assurance of
getting the bike repaired and requesting Secretary to get calm.
Abhishek’s
disagreement with Pradhan’s office executions and sorting out the bureaucratic
deals depresses him. On trying to alter and recommend something more scientific
and practical, he gets being silenced and ignored by other ward members in the
committee meetings. Rather the hilarious decision of one of the ward members to
put the light on the haunted tree gets hugely praised. The sarcastic rural
intellectual is observed when he is asked how he got a brilliant idea and he
answers “I thought it while taking a leak (Episode 2, 43:15).” His advice to
install the light on that tree is no regressively enjoyed by the local
politicians. The already going frustration with his life by not achieving the
sophisticated corporate job and city life, Abhishek becomes more ill-tempered
with ideas of rural folks and behavior.
Being
compelled to work under the intellectually far inferior person and unable to
make a presence, his frustration increases. But the story doesn’t stick to the
same line of control. It movies on with quite humorous and ironic moments that
tell a lot about our basic human tendencies such as greed, lust for power, and
deep-rooted corruption in every post of the bureaucracy. Coming to the point,
the story could be analyzed through a non-hero existence perspective. For one
moment Abhishek appears as the major character and for the next Pradhan. The
major argument remains to leave the particular orienting of a hero figure to
any single character. Thus, from here the collective sense of rural heroism
begins in the story.
In
episode 3 during the wedding function of one of the village member’s Abhishek
is too much worried about lending his office for the bridegroom’s stay and
assist them in preparing for the wedding but his office assistant suggests,
“You see sir, in villages whenever there is wedding, function or funeral
everyone comes together to lend a hand. This is the tradition, the culture of
the village” (1:16:09). Vikas again reminds him of popular culture in the
village during the wedding.
Adorno’s
idea is that most people in capitalist societies live limited, impoverished,
and unhappy lives (Strinati 63). Tripathi’s life looks limited from body
performance. He doesn’t look happy. Though he is a village now, his
consciousness frequently gets haunted by the city mentality that he needs to
have a decent paying job and adequate materialistic life. The simple life of
the village haunts him more and makes him regress more about not being able to
crack admission in IIM. During the whole movie, he doesn’t talk much on phone
with his family and friends. We notice that he only talks with his mother when
he has to ask for subscribing milk form Pradhan’s house. In all of the
instances, Vikas turns out to be his best and closest friend.
Villagers
not only have an impact on Abhishek, his presence and working capability also
alert Pradhan about his own weakness on rigid authority and firm decision
making. Pradhan’s reluctance to stand by with his decision upon Branch District
Office’s (BDO) message to change the slogan comes as the resilience to his own
habit. When even Abhishek gets afraid of potential risk he says, “If the
decision is right, then why are you scared? No one will finger at the office.
Whatever they want to do, they can do it to me in the next elections” (Episode
4, 2: 00:55). He then even asks the monthly price of milk from Abhishek.
Similarly, Deputy Pradhan’s decision to support Pradhan on his decision to
implement the slogan saying he doesn’t want to work without him shows the intimacy
and close friendship between them besides professional matches.
In
episode 5 when Abhishek is inquired on drinking beer and sleeping when the
monitor gets stolen, he angrily expresses his frustration on being lonely,
“There is not a single guy around to talk to after work hours. I have no
friend, no family, no social life” (2:27:31). Pradhan gets emotional by
Abhishek’s pathetic feelings towards village life and his poor daily life.
Benjamin
Franklin argues that the sound film is ‘superior’ in ‘capturing reality’, and
in giving the masses the opportunity to consider what it has captured (qtd in
Strinati 77). Panchayat in that sense perfectly paints rural India and their
collective notion of life routines. Moreover, it also leaves the ground for the
clash of village and town values through the village secretary and Pradhan.
Tripathi’s constant thinking about returning back to the city works as a normal
life for him. However, towards the end we notice, he feels content with his
effort of bringing Manju Devi (official Pradhan) back to the front. Therefore
Benjamin stresses the democratic and participatory rather than the
authoritarian and repressive potential of contemporary popular culture.
In
episode 6 when Abhishek and Vikas were in the market for taking photographs,
they get in skirmishes with local boys of another village. They were challenged
to have duel by local boys after they were told to get away from the bike’s
seat, Abhishek gets scared but Vikas goes ready to meet the boys for a duel on
notwithstanding their humiliation, “They openly threatened us, sir. We must
take some action” (2:40:16). Vikas’s manner of ego-satisfaction shows
villagers' willingness to be hard and rough if provoked. Opposite to it,
Abhishek remains silent an tries to get cool. Though simple in appearances, if
provoked, folks too could be dangerous and lethal is exemplified by Vikas’s
aggressiveness to go for revenge. Similarly, the photographer refuses
Abhishek’s to give his photos and says he has deleted his all photos since
Abhishek has rows with the boys of his own village, “Since this concerns my
village, I can’t be traitor” (ibid.: 2:42). This shows rural folks’ strong
connectedness. On ahead Pradhan and
Deputy Pradhan on the first request by Vikas get ready to take Abhishek’s side
in settling the duel re-emphasizes the rural folks’ good character.
Panchayat
not only reveals an average students’ frustration for a secure future, but it
also publicizes the rural culture filled with the morale of humanity and unity
among rural Indian folks in harsh times. With the effort of youth production
house TVF, Panchayat comes out as the
realistic representation of modern Indian rural life overwhelmed with nostalgic
habits of our childhood. With minimal cost at production but a huge impact to
present educated youths Panchayat re-establishes
the aura of our rural life with which we Indian subcontinent are born with.
Breaking the admired genre of Bollywood web series, Panchayat alarms us what we have forgotten and what still couldn’t
be separated from us being Indian subcontinental. It touches our hearts to fill
us with the sense of lost ecstasy of rural and most authentic lifestyles.
Works Cited
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,
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Panchayat
Review: Rural India is a Jolly Good Place in this Comedy of Manners https://scroll.in/reel/958066/panchayat-review-rural-india-is-a-jolly-good-place-in-this-comedy-of-manners
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Delightful, Slice of Life Series Capturing the Essence of Rural India https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/web-series/reviews/hindi/panchayat-review-a-delightful-slice-of-life-series-capturing-the-essence-of-rural-india/articleshow/75815984.cms
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