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Welcome to Sajjanpur
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Cast: Shreyas Talpade, Amrita Rao, Ravi Jhankal, Ila Arun, Divya Dutta
Director: Shyam Benegal
Spicezee Bureau
New Delhi, Sept 20: Shyam Benegal’s ‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’, which released all over this Friday, is a rustic tale set in rural India, which comes across as a wonderfully simple journey through ‘Sajjanpur’, set in the interiors of northern India. It is an attempt to throw some light into the unseen Indian villages where postmen and letters are still the only mode of communication. Sajjanpur is a place where power cuts are normal and bicycles are the proud mode of transport.
It takes one back to a hamlet that has its share of assorted characters: a letter writer, a power-hungry goon, an eunuch, a short tempered army man and his widowed daughter-in-law, a compounder, a house wife whose husband, working in Mumbai, hasn`t showed up since four years. The characters are all what each one of us has seen, sometime or the other, in our lives and are easily relatable.
‘Welcome…’ is not heavy on your mind, despite the ample drama. It is instead subtle as everything is presented without going overboard. The story goes like this - Mahadev (Shreyas Talpade) is one of the few literate men of the village who vouches to become a novelist, but makes a living by writing-reading letters of all the illiterate villagers. It is the art of writing convincing letters that makes him popular with the village bumpkins. Mahadev is aware of his abilities and starts using his talent to manipulate people with amusing and, at times, not such funny results. Thereafter, we witness several captivating encounters between Mahadev and co-villagers. One of them happens to be Kamla (Amrita Rao), Mahadev`s childhood classmate cum crush who is unfortunately married, Mahadev goes ahead to play his cards in order to bring her back in his life. The background varies from industrialisation vs farmers, a well-connected housewife running for election against a quick-witted eunuch (Ravi Jhankal), a superstitious mother (Ila Arun) trying to ward off her tomboyish daughter`s (Divya Dutta) manglik status by tying her knot with a manglik mongrel.
Benegal, at the same time explores the human mind with Mahadev’s change of heart and subsequent liberation. ‘Welcome…’ works, all thanks to the likeable desi dialect and its judicious writing, making it amusing at places. Under Benegal`s intelligent focus, the supporting cast of actors like Yashpal Sharma , Daya Shankar Pandey, Ravi Jhankal, Ila Arun (in a standout performance), Divya Dutta come out with flying colours.
Shreyas is superbly outstanding, the more said the lesser it would be. Amrita Rao is convincing in her portrayal but has nothing much to do. With this one, Benegal proves his versatility and puts an end to the tag that of a ‘serious filmmaker’, as he leaves an indelible impression on the minds of the viewers.
‘Welcome to Sajjanpur’ is worth each penny spent. Three cheers to this one.
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