Gram Chikitsalay Review: A journey of heart, hindered by Panchayat’s shadow

Gram Chikitsalay Review: Story – MO Prabhat Sinha (Amol Parashar) is a young doctor who takes charge of a Primary Health Centre in a village in the deep heartland of India, where connectivity is bare minimum. Called Bhatkandi, this village has not walked hand in hand with the rest of the country towards progress, and the city is yet to touch the people who know no law. So when Prabhat gets to know the Health Centre has been shut and the workers, Phutani and Gobin, are running it just on paper, he must now bring a revolution and betterment to the village that lacks medical facilities and has accepted its fate.

Gram Chikitsalay Review:

The world of streaming, with its boom in the country, explored the heartland of India with full throttle. However, most of it was with respect to the violent side, with fictional stories of gangsters, dons, and police officers. No one went to the heartlands like the iconic Malgudi Days, and content like it, till TVF finally decided to bring us Panchayat—a show about the goodness in people and no guns (till the end of the third season; there are guns in Phulera too now). So the production company that has joined hands with Amazon deserves credit for the same. Now, when the Jitendra Kumar-starrer show is in its fourth season as we speak, probably Amazon called the makers to bring something more from the heartland, and they obliged. Born was Gram Chikitsalay, a show with the same beating heart. But can it recreate the impact that Panchayat did?

Well, to come at me for comparing the two is not a great idea, because the makers have lent the show to this comparison when they promoted it as a soul cousin to Panchayat in probably every single promotional content piece. Not such a good plan, it seems. Gram Chikitsalay is written with the same ink that shaped the show set in Phulera. But Bhatkandi is different. It is not as vast as that one, but that doesn't mean the lifestyle is any less complex. The canvas is compressed, and it is one of those sweet little experiments that is like a testing product to bloom if it works. And for most parts of it, it does. Meanwhile, watch all these fresh releases on Lionsgate, Zee5, and more this week.

Created by Deepak Kumar Mishra and Arunabh Kumar, Gram Chikitsalay finds its heart in the fact that some places in India are still so disconnected from the mainland and what is happening there. The fact that a well-groomed man in white pants coming to the village is looked at as a visitor who will leave in an hour and cannot survive their lifestyle prepares you for the same. 

The story is interesting because the stubbornness of the villagers and the ‘I will be the next Robin Hood’ emotion of Prabhat meet at a farm that is grown on illegal land. The most interesting part is the approach that Prabhat has over bringing change to this village. His perspective is that of a game-changer looking at his subjects; he never attempts to blend. And when he is told about this, he is left stunned. However, the best part is that the writing doesn't immediately show him changed. And for a show that is just five episodes, it is a very brave move.

What is also brave is the fifth episode—the climax—where a very tragic but beautiful story unfolds as a mother goes through a gamut of emotions and struggles. Revealing a lot about it is certainly a spoiler. But it is a well-executed and narrated story. However, the problem with it is the bridge that is built between the entire show and the climax. Of course, there are bits and pieces of the final reveal planted around, but we are never told that it is the main conflict of the show. There is a bogus doctor (Vinay Pathak), there is a complete political angle where parties want to use the new doctor in town as propaganda. There is the doctor’s struggle to bring patients, his ultimatum from the CMO.

All of these are packets that are very good to watch throughout, but when the endgame arrives, they never sit together as one. The effortlessness that is needed in the narrative is absent. What it does is make the entire show look disjointed. Why it bothers more is because the final episode is a scene-stealer, and you will feel the pain. But if the structure was as good as Panchayat, the impact would have been on another level. Also, the show never gives Prabhat the time to process it alone. We never see him at his quarters soaking it all in, and that makes his character very one-dimensional. He has an influential father, but we are never shown how his relationship is with him. The character is not chalked out away from the main conflict, even for a bit.

Having said that, the acting performances are brilliant. Amol Parashar, in his second streaming show in May after Kull, is impressive as Prabhat. His anger, but not having the privilege to show it, is on point. He brings this positivity with his screen presence in a landscape that needs hope, and it works. Akash Makhija is stellar, and so is Anandeshwar Dwivedi. Garima Vikrant Singh deserves all the praise for her performance as the nurse in the Health Centre. The actor, who is seen after a very long time, gives the best performance among the cast.

Gram Chikitsalay Review: Final Verdict

The Amol Parashar-starrer is a good idea with a beating heart, but that is not all it takes to build a stellar show. The glue to bind multiple plots is missing in Gram Chikitsalay, and that dilutes the impact of this potent story.

Gram Chikitsalay hits Amazon Prime Video on May 9, 2025. Stay tuned to OTTplay for more information on this and everything else from the world of streaming and films.