Set in a fictitious Indian village Welcome to Sajjanpur tells the humble story of the inhabitants of that village. The central character is Mahadev, one of the few educated young men from Sajjanpur. His ambition is to be a novelist, but finds it easier to make a living by writing letters sitting next to the Post Office. His ability to write persuasive letters makes him popular with the largely non-literate population of the town. Aware of this power, he soon uses his talent to manipulate people with amusing and sometimes not such amusing results.
With this as the narrative frame, Welcome to Sajjanpur shows in an entertaining musical and comic way, characters and events that are at once hilarious and poignant. A delightful satirical take on a contemporary Indian village.
Mahadev (Shreyas Talpade) is a young graduate from Sajjanpur village who lives with his widowed mother. She has a vegetable stall outside their house. Romantic by inclination, witty and charming, his imaginative turn of phrase makes him a popular letter writer. An incident in his childhood appears to be the reason for his bachelorhood. Meeting Kamala, a childhood sweetheart, rekindles the love he had for her. In his fantasies, he sings to her and dances like a contemporary film hero.
Kamala (Amrita Rao), a pretty and endearingly innocent, she belongs to a family of potters. She lives with her mother-in-law. Her husband works in Mumbai, having left soon after her marriage. Kamala was a classmate of Mahadev in primary school before she was suddenly taken out of school for unstated reasons. This has left her unlettered.
Ramkumar (Ravikishan) is the dandy of the village. Works in the local health centre and is forced to treat patients. Even though he has very little knowledge of medicine, the doctor is frequently absent. Ramkumar is in love with the young widow Shobha Rani.
Shobharani (Rajeshwari Sachdev) is youthful and attractive. She was widowed in childhood. She lives with her father-in-law Subedar Singh.
Ramsingh (Yashpal Sharma) is the illiterate ex-sarpanch of Sajjanpur. His present focus is on trying to make his wife Jamuna Devi, the sarpanch of the village. Arrogant and shrewd, he believes in muscle power to get things done.
Vindhya (Divya Dutta) young and educated, is a no-nonsense girl and quite out of place in conservative Sajjanpur. Mausi (Ila Arun) is melodramatic, superstitious and silly lady given to hysterical excesses.
Shreyas Talpade is one of the most talented young actors of the current generation. He is brilliant in a finely balanced and very natural performance. Amrita Rao is wonderful as the married village belle. Ila Arun and Divya Dutta are amazing as the conflicting mother-daughter duo. Ravi Kishan displays his comic talents in a substantial role. Rajeshwari Sachdev is impressive in the funny scenes. Yashpal Sharma and Kunal Kapoor are rightly cast in their roles.
Welcome to Sajjanpur is a good entertaining film, innovative storytelling with some interesting themes and clean cinema with hilariously witty dialogues, rich and sincere characters and laugh-out-loud situations.
Crew of Welcome to Sajjanpur:
Presenter: UTV Spotboy
Producer: Ronnie Screwvala
Co-Producers: Zarina Mehta, Deven Khote, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Director: Shyam Benegal
Music: Shantanu Moitra
Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire, Ashok Mishra
Director of Photography: Rajen Kothari
Story: Shyam Benegal
Screenplay & Dialogue: Ashok Mishra
Production Designer: Samir Chanda
Editor: Aseem Sinha
Production Design – Samir Chanda
Production Manager – Niraj Kothari
Sound Recordist – Sachin K. Sanghvi
Cast of Welcome to Sajjanpur:
Mahadev – Shreyas Talpade
Kamla – Amrita Rao
Shobha – Rajeshwari Sachdev
Ramkumar – Ravi Kishan
Ramsingh – Yashpal Sharma
Mausi – Ila Arun
Vindhya – Divya Dutta
Collector – Rajit Kapoor
Bansi – Kunal Kapoor
Ravi Jhankal
Welcome to Sajjanpur, movie review