BOTTOM LINE
Rooted Panchayat Freemake
PLATFORM
Jio Hotstar
RUNTIME
1 hour 20 minutes (4 episodes).
What Is the Show Office About?
Grand arrangements are made to welcome the newly appointed collector with fanfare in the tahsildar office of a village in interior Tamil Nadu. Paari, a computer engineer part of the IT staff, is mistaken to be the collector and enjoys the attention until the situation gets out of hand. He’s set to work together with his ex Indu in the office. Meanwhile, villagers take to the streets for a wine shop.
Performances
Guru Lakshman and Smeha Manimegalai make for a good on-screen couple in a love-hate relationship, complementing each other’s performances. Though TSR doesn’t do anything drastically different from his previous outings, he regales you with his presence. The supporting cast – comprising Shiva Aravind, RJ Sarithiran, Kavitha Bharathi, Nithya, Jaya Rao and others – deliver the goods too.
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Analysis
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It’s a pity that the market is always happy when filmmakers create clones of successful products. In the pursuit of playing safe and going by metrics, the opportunities to tell new stories, and break norms get stifled by the day. While the result may be entertaining and can give results to the OTTs, it sends the wrong message to an ecosystem that’s already drowning in its own mediocrity.
Directed by Abdul Kabeez, Office, like Prime’s Panchayat, is intentionally set in a village with no specific geographic details – it is free from precise references and wants to appeal to all viewers across Tamil Nadu. It offers a light-hearted peek into its village setting, focusing on the mundanities and the sleepy work culture in the tahsildar office, which awaits the arrival of a collector.
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Much to the credit of the team, the ambience is established convincingly, though it liberally tries to emulate the feel-good vibe of the aforementioned show. It starts with the government staff struggling to open the keys to the tahsildar office, where a newlywed couple spends their first night. The deputy is frustrated with the inefficiency of his laidback team while trying to resolve everyday issues.
Besides addressing open defecation within governmental property, two neighbouring villages are fighting over a wine shop. Meanwhile, a computer engineer, mistaken to be a collector, is welcomed with much fanfare. The love-hate dynamic between Paari and Indu is woven into the proceedings entertainingly and you get a sense of the aimlessness within the team.
The director pokes fun at the internal politics within the village, the pettiness of the issues and the power hierarchy in the office.The show gets more interesting with the team’s verbal banters, the eccentricities of the staff – like how two brothers-in-law work under the same roof, a female worker is obsessed with food and Indu is particular about shifting to a private company soon.
While highlighting the deputy’s growing frustration – there are glimpses of the equation that Paari and Indu may have shared in the past. The contrasting reactions of the staff when they realise Paari’s true identity are particularly entertaining. Some catchy one-liners, good comic timing from the cast help with Office’s situational humour and it keeps progressing smoothly.
As one reaches the fourth episode, an officer gets confused between both the meanings of ‘thanni’ and tries to resolve an issue, and the comedy-of-errors scenario ensures a few laughs. Going ahead, it’s hinted that we’ll be watching more of Indu and Paari’s love story (flashback and the present) and scenes exploring the latter’s motivation in taking up a government job.
Office, without relying on slapstick touches, brings in a lot of local nuances and a new flavour to a familiar setting – something that Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam (Tamil remake of Panchayat) could’ve ideally done. There are a wide range of characters and quirkier situations to keep the screenplay lively and appeal to its target audience. If you’re in the mood for a light-hearted rural dramedy, go for it.
Music and Other Departments?
Saran Raghavan’s music keeps the show afloat with a decent score, though it may not have any standout element. The picturesque backdrop of the village and the beauty of the countryside are brought to the fore by both the cinematographers Regimel Surya Thomas and Santhosa Pandi K. Editor Vyay Krishnan is aware of the show’s target audience and the 20-minute episode runtime is a relief.
Highlights?
Good local humour
Decent performances, good cast
Adds a new flavour despite inspiration from Panchayat
Drawbacks?
Thematically not really new
Becomes predictable instead of familiar
Few bumps in the screenplay
Did I Enjoy It?
In parts
Will You Recommend It?
If a hyperlocal Tamil rural dramedy is your forte, go for it
Office 2025 Tamil Web Series Review by M9
