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Remaking a web series is a completely different ball game when compared to remaking films. Of course, the rules are the same. Ensure local nativity is part of the remake, and don’t spoil the good name of the original. But to remake a long-form narrative into another language, especially when the original is there for all to watch, is a tricky affair. Prime Video’s Panchayat was one of the best things to happen to Indian OTT space, and the timing of its release (April, 2020) ensured it became a seminal part of the Hindi audience’s psyche. Abhishek, Dubey ji, Manju Devi, Prahlad, and Vikas were household names, and the first season was so perfect that even the considerably decent follow-ups felt tad disappointing. Four years later, when Prime Video decided that it was a ripe time to release Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam, the Tamil version of Panchayat, many were sceptical to say the least.
A lot of issues popped up in the collective heads. Tamil Nadu villages are starkly different from the ones in Madhya Pradesh. The issues plaguing Phulera cannot be juxtaposed as is in Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam. How can you recreate the warmth generated by the terrific cast of Panchayat? Well, after watching eight episodes of Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam, one can rest assured that Prime Video definitely has a winner in its hands. Again.
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For the unversed, Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam is about a Chennai-based youngster Siddharth (Abishek Kumar), finding himself being appointed the Panchayat Secretary in a remote village of Tamil Nadu. He has to move to this ‘godforsaken’ place because of compulsion, and is waiting for a reason to find a way to get back home, and work in a better job. For now, his life surrounds the titular village, and its inhabitants, namely former Panchayat Chairman Meenatchi Sundaram (Chetan), present Panchayat Chairperson Meenatchi Devi (Devadarshini), Vice-Chairperson Prabhu (Anandsami), and office assistant Lakshmipathy (Paul Raj).
It is a typical coming-of-age story about a hot-headed youngster understanding that when life throws you lemons, it is better to make lemon rice in a village that forces him to gorge on a fixed diet of moringa sambar and rava upma. The stories told in Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam aren’t new, but they are definitely profound without trying too hard. It is seemingly simple day-to-day issues like the presence of a ghost in an old tree, procuring ghee for a wedding, ego clashes over revolving chairs and reversing autos, lack of computer knowledge, and memorising the National Anthem for the Republic Day with just a few hours left. All of these issues might seem simple from outside, but in the lives of the people of Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam, they are everything.
Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam also revels in the long stretches of nothingness that is present across eight episodes. It features visuals of characters walking, riding a washed up moped, resorting to blind superstition, and massaging each other’s egos just because they don’t have anything better to do. They rile up over everything, and find peace soon after, and the same thing happens over eight episodes, albeit in different contexts every time. It is this laidback nature of the series that made audiences warm up to Panchayat, and the same happens with Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam too. This is largely due to the terrific performances of the ensemble. Just like how Abishek’s character takes time to warm up to the village and its villagers, we too find ourselves warming up to him over the course of the series. Initially, he is relegated to showing different ways of being exasperated, and nothing more. During these times, we are kept engaged by the brilliant quadruplet of Chetan, Devadarshini, Anand Sami, and Paul.
Here’s the trailer:
Their hold on the dialect, and penchant for humour ensures that there is never a dull moment in Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam. Their talent allows the makers of the Tamil version to play around with the content, and incorporate slight changes in the characteristics. The real-life couple of Chetan and Devadarshini are brilliant as the bigwigs of the village, and their lived-in chemistry shines through the characters. It adds an extra dimension to their conversations, and it is a hoot to see them feed off each other’s energy. Similarly, Anand Sami’s Prabhu is a much nicer person than Panchayat’s Prahlad. He is a lot more innocent, and it makes the character the moral compass of the show. Paul’s nonchalance is perfect for the role of Lakshmipathy, and it is brilliant how he embodies the role made memorable by Chandan Roy Sanyal, and makes it his own character. And with all of these characters coming together so well, we warm up to Abishek’s Siddharth too. We not only smile along with him, but also roll our eyes, feel suffocated, heave a sigh of relief, and finally, put ourselves in his shoes to understand why he always has a frown on his face.
The small changes in the narrative to include Tamil sensibilities work really in favour of the series, especially the writers’ decision to change a particular issue from family planning to menstruation. This acts as an excellent social commentary that espouses the dichotomy of the Tamil family structure. However, it is also disappointing that Devadarshini doesn’t get much to do in this series. Of course, Neena Gupta too didn’t have much to do in Season 1 of Panchayat, but this course could have been corrected when the chance presented itself in the Tamil remake.
Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam, much like Panchayat, is a largely reductive way of looking at the villages of India, and painting the villagers as ‘simple and innocent’ isn’t completely true by any stretch of imagination. But sometimes, audiences do need a sense of ‘feel-good’ to realise that beyond all the differences and hierarchies, there lies a world where tears are wiped away, smiles are plastered, issues are raised, problems are resolved during the course of a 30-minute episode. We might not live in that world, yet, but isn’t it nice to imagine being in one?
Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam Rating: 3.5
Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam Cast: Abishek Kumar, Chetan, Devadarshini, Anand Sami
Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam Director: Naga
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