Panchayat Season 2 bags first-ever Best Web Series (OTT) Award at IFFI

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, accompanied by National Award-winning actor Divya Dutta and film critic Utpal Borpujari, presented the award to Deepak Kumar Mishra, the director of Panchayat, Vijay Koshy, the producer-president of TVF, and Manish Menghani, Director and Head of Content Licensing at Amazon Prime Video.

Portraying the life and journey of an engineering graduate who becomes a panchayat secretary in the fictional village of Phulera, Uttar Pradesh, due to limited job options, the show’s first season premiered on Prime Video in April 2020, during the Covid lockdown period, and earned immediate acclaim.

Starring Jitendra Kumar, Neena Gupta, Raghubir Yadav, Chandan Roy and Faisal Malik in key roles, the series has been renewed for a third season.

In her review of the show, The Indian Express’ Arushi Jain wrote: “The strength of Panchayat 2 lies in how it never takes itself too seriously and slips into the situational comedy zone effortlessly.”

🏆 And the award for ‘Best Web Series (OTT)’ goes to Panchayat! 🏆

This heartwarming tale of village life has captivated audiences worldwide, and its recognition at #IFFI54 is a testament to its brilliance. Congratulations to the entire team behind Panchayat! 🎉#IFFI #IFFI2023… pic.twitter.com/Q7bQlGfGWu

— PIB India (@PIB_India) November 28, 2023

Meanwhile, the jury also gave special mention to Nikkhil Advani and Abhay Pannu’s Rocket Boys Season 1, dubbing it as a ‘must-watch’. In her review of the show, The Indian Express’ Shubhra Gupta wrote: “The series takes you back to a forgotten India. A time when idealism was a good word, and the liberal, democratic spirit of debate and discussion was evident in the highest galleries of power. Science and scientists were respected; prime ministers listened to them and their ideas, however outlandish they may have seemed at first.”

A total of 32 entries in 10 languages from 15 OTT platforms were shortlisted out of which four series were nominated. The nominations also included Human and Nirmal Pathak Ki Ghar Wapsi. The award comes with Rs 10 lakh and a trophy.