Welcome to Sajjanpur

It's great to have Shyam Benegal back making films again. He's relaunched himself with a fairly light film, one that reminded me of another of my favorite directors of the 80s, Sai Paranjpe. Both Sai and Shyam are so good at capturing the quirks of village life, warts and all. Welcome To Sajjanpur actually does have some dark elements, but the director doesn't seem to want to ruin India Shining's cheery mood by dwelling on these too much. Be warned, a lot of the language in this film is Bhojpuri, especially the dialogs of Ila Arun. I missed a lot of her funny lines, but the Bhojpuri speaking people in the audience were laughing out loud. The performances of the actors were all great - Shyam is obviously good at casting. Don't know if this film is destines to run for long, so I'd advise everyone to go out and see it right away. Or you could always wait to see it on TV (UTV Spotboy movies make it to TV in 3 months) or buy the DVD (for Rs 50!).

After taking a break from direction for about 7 years, one of my all time favourite directors is back and this time with something different: a satirical comedy. 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' is such a joy to watch. It isn't an out-and-out comedy as there are elements of tragedy but the film feels refreshing and genuine. When most Hindi movies nowadays are set in foreign locations, 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' is set in a fictitious Indian village and it tells the humble story of the inhabitants of that village. I don't recall Benegal ever having made a comedy and here he succeeds greatly. The sharp writing consists of some hilariously witty dialogues, rich and sincere characters and laugh-out-loud situations. I enjoyed all the letter-writing sequences with the colourful characters. Benegal also cleverly presents themes such as politics, 'gay' rights and widow remarriage into the plots. The songs too fit well with the story although the dream sequence filmed on Talpade and Rao in an airplane is awkward.

The performances are splendid. Ila Arun and Divya Dutta are awesome as the conflicting mother-daughter duo. Amrita Rao is marvelous as the married village belle. Ravi Kishan finally gets to display his comic talents in a substantial role. Rajeshwari Sachdev is impressive in a small role. She's particularly funny in the scene where her father-in-law asks her to read the letter from Ramkumar. Yashpal Sharma is adequate. Kunal Kapoor thankfully only has a teeny role.

And, 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' is confidently carried by Shreyas Talpade, one of the most talented young actors of the current generation. Benegal's previous films indicate that he has an eye for talented actors and he has cleverly cast Talpade in the lead role. The actor delivers a finely balanced and very natural performance.

I can safely add 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' to my list of favourite films of the year and so far it is one of the best Hindi films of 2008. If you're looking for an something in the form of good entertainment, innovative storytelling with some interesting themes and good cinema, then this is that movie.

This was a nice surprise. I saw it because of Shyam Benegal's direction. The movie is well made, good jokes and comedy.

The story line was good, acting by everyone was commendable. Shreyas will turn up to be the best in sometime. His comedy and timing was so realistic.

The script and screenplay was just too good i feel.

Shyam Benegal should come up with more such themes. He has a good knack for comedy.

I would recommend it. Watch it for a good laugh.

I would rate it 7.

Yes this is a good movie and worth watching. Here Shyam Benegal gave a good message of democracy and need of literacy with a good comedy essence.

Shreyas Talpade really acted well as in Om Shanti Om and Iqbal. He proved his talent as a potential actor. Amritha Rao , Divya Datta, Ila Arun excellent in their performance.

I liked the language they used in this movie. It is really nice. One more hing I would like to tell about music which is melodious and location no second opinion! it is too good. Shyam Benegal showed his creative mind with very simple,watchful,movie. he is a master of Indian Cinema.

Nice comedy set up completely in the rural India, with jokes that make good sense in the local dialect which should not be difficult to comprehend. Ace director Shyam Benegal has made a perfect movie, albeit quite different from the serious classics he has directed in the past. Shreyas Talpade as the aspiring novelist ends up being a scribe, and therefore has a peek into everyone's lives in the village. Ends up manipulating people's lives through letters, especially his love interest's. Quite a number of funny sub plots follow, and the humor doesn't let you feel they are getting too many to remember. A few melodious numbers add to the movie.