‘Gram Chikitsalay’ review: Well-acted, Well-articulated but fades while in comparison with TVF’s flagship vehicle, Panchayat

‘Gram Chikitsalay’ review: Well-acted, Well-articulated but fades while in comparison with TVF’s flagship vehicle, Panchayat

‘Gram Chikitsalay’ S1 web series review

‘Gram Chikitsalay’, directed by Rahul Pandey, treads a familiar trajectory and territory in terms of TVF’s offerings and its flagship vehicle, Panchayat – a striking and resonant rural setting, the morally dilemmatic protagonist and a cheerful set of buffoons who cheer him up.

The proliferation of OTT as a medium of entertainment also witnessed a plethora of content for the audience – in terms of genre and diversity. Amidst the deluge of sex, gore and violence, TVF’s shows stood out for their novelty, ingenious material and indigenous sensibilities.

It doesn’t take too long for Dr. Prabhat Sinha (played by Amol Parashar) to leave his father’s well-established city hospital and take up the challenging post of MO at a rundown Public Health Center at Bhatkandi, somewhere in remote Jharkhand. And soon, he realizes the magnitude of the mounting problems that grapple him – professionally and personally. His ragtag team, comprising Bhutani (a terrific Anandeshwar Dwivedi), compounder Gobind (Akash Makhija) and a nurse, Indu (Garima Vikrant Singh) become part of his tempestuous journey, creating chaos and also offering cushion.

The beats have a semblance with Sachiv ji from Panchayat, but ‘Gram Chikitsalay’ pales in comparison in terms of the charm, wits and humour, notwithstanding the nuances and verve. Prabhat’s journey is understated, and Amol gives it a realized arc, making it more believable. It also hits the right spots with earnest performances from Dwivedi, Garima and Akash.

The execution is lazy and lacks energy, but there are sparking moments which sustain your interest, thanks to writers Vaibhav Suman and Shreya Srivastava – a very non-clinical exchange between Amol and the village’s private practitioner, without an MBBS degree Chetan Kumar (an immensely talented Vinay Pathak) where the latter underlines the need for an emotional connect of a doctor with his patients.