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People expecting too much out of Shyam Benegal, considering his past body of work are bound to be disappointed. Still, the weight of expectation aside Welcome To Sajjanpur is not a bad watch- it's honest cinema that's rare to come by these days, even if it is ultimately deeply flawed.
By Jahan Bakshi  2.5 Stars
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It is one of Benegal's warmest, funniest and raunchiest pieces of cinema - where every character is a human being you'd bump into if you visit a Sajjanpur.
By Subhash K Jha  3 Stars
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2.5 stars A delightful satirical take on a contemporary Indian village. - Ashok Nayak    Fri, 19 Sep 2008
Director Shyam Benegal, better known for his films like Manthan, Sardari Begum and Zubeida, has decided to venture into a new stream of cinema and make comic satires, as it is one of the most appreciated genres by the audiences today.

His directorial first in comedy titled "Welcome to Sajjanpur", originally titled Mahadev Ka Sajjanpur, is a movie about few characters from the Sajjanpur village with a perfect blend of rustic comedy and drama. Shreyas Talpade, Amrita Rao, Ravi Kishan, Ila Arun, Divya Dutta and Rajeshwari Sachdev form the different characters of this small village.

Mahadev is 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.

I entered the movie hall wondering if a director who has always concentrated on thought-provoking serious movies successfully directs a comedy flick. And as the reels of Welcome to Sajjanpur unveiled I was taken by surprise by the Benegal has handled this movie. His experience and talent as a director is evident in his very first attempt in a new genre.

Welcome to Sajjanpur stands out for its simplicity and its characters with whom you can easily connect and relate to. The movie doesn't have a strong plot, no glam and no action either. But the way each character and the life and sensitivity of the characters is portrayed makes it worth a dekho on the big screen.

No, Welcome isnt without its share of flaws. At many situations the village seems to be quite open minded. The villagers keep their mouths shut when Kamala, a married woman, goes on a cycle with a young and unmarried long lost friend of her's Mahadev who in turn is known for his mischievous nature. When in reality, such things are a taboo in Indian villages. Many such cinematic liberties have been taken which are quite hard to digest.

The songs too act as speed breakers and slow the pace considerably. To be frank, the songs werent great and unnecessarily added to the runtime.

Shreyas Talpade is the soul of Welcome to Sajjanpur. He is brilliant with his comic timing and performs the emotional scenes to perfection. Its hard to imagine anyone, other than probably someone as versatile as Aamir Khan, in the role of Mahadev. Amrita Rao has worked hard for her role, again Shyam Benegal has managed to extract a praise-worthy performance from the beautiful actress. There are so many characters in this character-driven film and almost all have done a comendable job. Except Ravi Kishen, he's over the top throughout.

To sum up, Welcome to Sajjanpur is average. It has its moments, the concept is different. The movie will hold more appeal to the 25+ (age) audience. At the box-office, the only chance of survival is strong word of mouth!


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