It'd be a cliché to recognise the recent phenomenon of filming "real" India for "real" Indians, if one were to go by that old adage that "India lives in its villages". Earlier this month, the third season of Amazon Prime's highly loved web series, Panchayat, premiered with great fanfare. Thus far, the series seems to have delivered on its promises, with its viewership only increasing. However, as some critics argue, the once-beloved "Phulera Gaon" of Panchayat has got embroiled in "a political maelstrom", challenging the show's earlier vibe, as journalist Vibha Maru puts it. She notes that the 'Phul' of Phulera has lost its lustre. Maru's observation of the fading Malgudi Days-like simplicity of Phulera and Phakoli Bazaar gains credence considering the growing reliance of OTT platforms on big data to cater to specific audience preferences and perpetuate certain aesthetics or predispositions.