Cinematography of Panchayat.

The world of Panchayat is deeply rooted in the rural heartlands of eastern Uttar Pradesh, with the narrative specifically anchored around the district of Ballia, which borders Bihar. Capturing the cultural authenticity of this setting was paramount, and from the very inception of the series, it was clear to me that the cinematography would play a crucial role in breathing life into this world. Every frame had to feel authentic, drawing viewers into the simplicity, intricacy, and nuanced beauty of village life. The thought being - lets transport our audiences into the village world of Phulera!

To achieve this, my approach to the cinematography in Panchayat Season 3 embraces a naturalistic style. The presence of camera is deliberately understated, focusing on wide, expansive shots of the open fields, the humble architecture of the Panchayat Bhawan, and the intimate details of everyday life in the village. The use of natural light enhances the authenticity, giving the visuals a raw and unfiltered look, making the audience feel as though they are part of that world rather than distant spectators. Whether it’s the soft, golden hue of the early morning sun or the stark, blinding light of the midday heat, each frame is designed to reflect the rhythm of rural life. With the camera, I did not wish to intrude in Panchayat.

The decision to focus on long, lingering shots and harmonious camera movement further helped me ground the series in realism. The pace of village life is slow, and the cinematography mirrors this. Instead of fleeting shots or forced perspectives, the camera patiently observes the characters, their surroundings, and the small, yet significant moments that define life in a real eastern UP village. For me, cinematography is not just about capturing beautiful images but also about providing space for the story to unfold naturally, without rushing or over-dramatizing.

My early training and practice in cinematography were rooted in the world of 35mm Film negatives and traditional Film cameras. Much of what I understand today, along with the habits I’ve cultivated over the years, came from growing within that ecosystem. The process of handling film, understanding light, texture, contrast, and perfecting each frame was meticulous and highly technical. It required patience, precision, and an acute awareness of the technical limitations of the medium.

Naturally, I found it intriguing when I began observing people making videos with mobile phones. Here was a tool, simple and handy, allowing users to capture videos under all kinds of lighting conditions, contrast situations, and colours and textures - something that would have been unthinkable for me as a traditionally trained cinematographer. While I initially faced this with disbelief, it quickly turned into envy. I envied that kind of freedom.

What truly fascinated me was the unrestrained nature of mobile phone videography. People would record without obsessing over perfect exposure, intricate camera setups, or the exact positioning of light. They focused on capturing moments in a spontaneous and raw way, which lent a unique ‘life’ into their videos. This sheer sense of abandon became a source of inspiration for me. I wanted to mimic that freedom, that participation in ‘creation’, while still bringing my professional learnings into play. I wanted to feel ‘alive’ taking the shots.

When the time came to conceptualize the cinematography for Panchayat, this observation influenced my approach significantly. I decided to embrace the idea of a “person with a mobile camera in hand,” someone who isn’t bogged down by the multitude of logistic considerations. This meant adopting a more fluid, documentary style - one that mirrors the spontaneous nature of mobile videos but still maintains the highest standards of professional cinematography.

This approach allowed me to capture the essence of Panchayat in a way that feels uncontrived, almost as if the camera is not present in the scene. There’s an immediacy and intimacy to the visuals, making the audience feel as though they are living the story, rather than distanced by forced camera work. In many ways, it was a liberating experience for me as a filmmaker - stepping away from many rigid assumptions and allowing the narrative to breathe through a more organic lens.

Light, in its purest form, is invisible. It doesn’t attract attention, but rather reveals the world around it, illuminating the scenes and moments it touches. This defines my approach to lighting. I believe that, like light, cinematography itself should be invisible. It should never draw attention to its techniques or tools, but rather allow the world it captures to unfold naturally on screen.

This philosophy became a guiding principle when crafting the visual language for Panchayat. To truly honour the spirit of the series, I understood that the cinematography had to be understated - never overshadowing the directness, humour, or emotion of the village life portrayed in the story. The camera had to blend seamlessly into the world, almost as if it wasn’t there. It was important for the audience to feel as though they were looking directly into the heart of the village, not through the lens of a camera.

Achieving this meant taking a minimalist approach in the execution of each shot. The presence of the camera, along with everything else around it - lights, crew, and equipment - had to be pared down to its essentials. The less intrusive the setup, the more authentic and unfiltered the scenes would appear. This allowed the performances, the setting, and the natural rhythm of life in the village to come to the forefront. The goal was to create an immersive experience where the technical aspects faded into the background, and the audience could engage fully with the story, unaware of the mechanics behind its creation.

This belief that cinematography should remain "invisible" doesn’t mean that it lacks finesse; rather, it means that the craft is so seamless and organic that it serves the narrative without asserting itself. By minimizing the presence of the camera, we let the characters and the world of Panchayat come alive in a way that feels real, grounded, and deeply human.

Another vital decision in shaping the cinematography of Panchayat was to ensure that the camera remained as adaptive as possible in every scene and location. This flexibility was crucial, given the unpredictable nature of shooting in a rural village setting. The environments were often dynamic, with constantly changing light, weather, and natural elements influencing each frame. To capture all this, the camera had to be fluid, moving in harmony with the characters and the space they occupied.

This decision led to a significant amount of movement - either of the camera, the characters, or often both. Unlike carefully choreographed shots, the camera in Panchayat was designed to move organically building the scene, adjusting spontaneously in real-time to the ebb and flow of the action. Whether it was following a character through a narrow village lane, capturing the hustle of a small gathering, or subtly shifting to observe a quiet, introspective moment, the camera’s adaptability allowed for a more immersive and relatable visual experience.

The movement wasn’t just about adding energy to the shots, though. It was a conscious choice to reflect the natural rhythm of village life, where the pace of life may be slow, yet people are often on the move - tending to chores, walking through fields, engaging in conversations, or simply navigating their daily lives. By allowing the camera to flow with this movement, we avoided the rigidity that can sometimes disconnect viewers from the environment on screen. Instead, it felt as though the camera was an intuitive observer in the scene, moving with the characters and exploring the space in an almost documentary-like manner.

This fluidity also gave the actors the freedom to perform naturally, without being confined to predetermined marks or rigid blocking. The camera adapted to them, rather than the other way around, capturing moments as they unfolded rather than imposing structure on them. This spontaneous approach contributed to the authenticity of the series.

In Panchayat, the story largely unfolds in outdoor settings, which played a significant role in shaping the visual approach of the series. Even when scenes take place indoors, we made it a point to maintain a visual connection to the outdoors - through windows, doors, or openings - ensuring that the expansive landscape of the village was always present. This continuous interplay between indoor and outdoor spaces became a hallmark of the show’s cinematography, with the camera frequently and seamlessly transitioning between these environments, following the characters as they moved in and out of spaces.

This approach added another layer of complexity to the cinematography, particularly when it came to balancing the lighting between indoor and outdoor settings. Each frame and shot had to carefully manage the contrasting light sources - the soft, filtered light indoors versus the harsh, often unforgiving sunlight outdoors. This challenge was amplified by the fact that we were shooting in May and June, during the peak of summer in central India, where the sun beats down in its most intense and harsh form. The brightness of the mid-day sun cast sharp, glaring shadows and intense contrast, forcing us to constantly adapt to extreme lighting conditions.

Equally challenging were the nighttime scenes. The village where we shot was isolated, with minimal to no artificial light contamination, making the nights exceptionally dark. The absence of ambient light created a stark contrast between the overwhelming brightness of the day and the oppressive darkness of the night. Capturing this drastic shift required a careful balance, ensuring that the night scenes retained their natural feel without losing visibility for the audience.

The darkness was not just a technical challenge but also an opportunity to use shadows and the play of light to build mood and atmosphere. Instead of flooding the night scenes with artificial light, we embraced the “darkest dark” of the rural landscape. This helped preserve the authenticity of village life, where nightfall is genuinely pitch black, and the few sources of light - whether from an emergency-lamp, a lone bulb, or a solar light - become focal points in the frame.

Balancing such extremes - blinding daylight and nearly impenetrable darkness - while maintaining the naturalistic feel of the series, was a crucial aspect of the cinematography. It reinforced the immersive quality of the show, allowing the audience to experience the intensity of the Indian summer and the solitude of rural nights, all while keeping the visuals grounded in realism. These lighting choices were not just technical necessities but integral to the storytelling, heightening the connection between the characters and their environment.

Moreover, given our zero budget for costly post-production cleanups, we had no option of including lights, grips, or any equipment in the frame with the intention of removing them later. Every shot and frame you see in Panchayat is exactly as captured by the camera, with no post-production manipulation.

With the challenge of shooting eight episodes in just 40 days looming ahead, I found myself reflecting deeply on the design challenges and technical requirements necessary to bring the vision of Panchayat to life on camera. It quickly became apparent that we would need to streamline our approach to be both time-efficient and creatively effective. The constraints of time, location, and the demands of the story pushed me to simplify, declutter, and innovate my solutions.

This realization led to a series of decisions focused on minimalism and efficiency. Instead of relying on an overwhelming array of complex gear, we opted for equipment that would allow us to work effectively. Every piece of gear needed to be purposeful, and unnecessary equipment had to be stripped away. The goal was to maintain the agility and flexibility of our camera work while ensuring that nothing got in the way of capturing the essence of the story and the characters' lives.

One key innovation during this process was the fabrication of custom gear. Understanding the limitations of traditional equipment in the unpredictable and often confined spaces of a rural village, we developed tools tailored to our specific needs. This included rigs and supports that allowed precise lighting and also for the camera to move seamlessly between indoor and outdoor spaces, capturing fluid shots without the interruption of heavy setups or complicated transitions.

These custom solutions enabled us to move quickly without compromising on quality, helping us stay on schedule while achieving the desired look and feel of the show. Whether it was a spider shaped light rig or an improvised battery-rickshaw dolly to traverse uneven terrain, each piece of gear was designed with both practicality and creative intent in mind. This approach not only simplified our workflow but also gave us the freedom to explore the environment more intuitively, responding to the energy of the scene as it unfolded.

In the end, this combination of simplification, innovation, and collaboration allowed us to push forward with our vision for Panchayat, meeting the tight deadlines while staying true to the spirit of the show. By focusing on what truly mattered, we were able to capture the soul of the story without getting trapped by the logistical complexities that often accompany such a large-scale production.

All in all, shooting Panchayat has been one of the most deeply satisfying and emancipating experiences in my 30-year journey as a cinematographer. It felt both liberating and empowering, allowing me to explore new ways of storytelling and visual expression while staying true to the spirit of the show. The creative freedom to adapt the cinematography to the dynamic village setting, embrace natural light, and move seamlessly between spaces was in many ways a departure from the more rigid, technical frameworks I had followed earlier in my career.

But beyond the technical and creative aspects, what stands out the most for me is the incredible collaboration that made this project possible. The contributions of the show’s creators, the writer, and every single member of the team were instrumental in shaping the visual and emotional world of Panchayat. Each department brought something vital to the table, and every performer brought their characters to life with authenticity and depth. At the helm of it all was the director, Sh. Deepak Kumar Mishra, the captain of the ship, whose vision and trust were the foundation on which the cinematography could truly flourish.

Cinematography, as I have come to understand over the years, does not exist in isolation. It’s not just about framing shots or managing light and exposure; it’s about capturing the soul of the story. It’s also a reflection of the immense faith everyone puts into the project - whether it’s the Director as the author, the writer who shapes the narrative, the performers who bring the characters to life, or the production team that builds the world we present on screen. This shared vision and trust are what give cinematography its true meaning.

Undoubtedly, filming the Panchayat series will forever stand as one of the most memorable and rewarding chapters of my professional journey.

-????????????? Amitabha Singh, 02 October 2024.