Featured Welcome To Sajjanpur Movie Review
Nuclear proliferation, communal animosity, plight of the 'third' sex, terrorism, naxalism, regionalism....you name and you got it and when served with a blend of a laughter spice you get a movie called Sajjanpur. Its a hilarious movie that portrays the reality as it is with least pretense and this is where it might bite a lot of people who blatantly call themselves intelligent . And it is a slap on the face of the intelligentsia in a way that it succeeds in calling a spade a spade.
Sajjanpur is a consummate movie where all the characters are strong and are interlinked in one way or the way, the obvious link being the protagonist: The Letter Writer. Right from the snake charmer to former Sarpanch of the village every character is draped in unique color that adds to the already strong plot of the movie. The aforementioned issues are dealt with a touch of humor and watch out for the Munni Bai's dialogs. Speaking of which the only flipper side of the movie could be its utterly rustic dialogs but that can be ignored conveniently because when you will walk out of the hall you would have a wide smile on your and a lump in your throat.
On the acting front Ila Arun and Ravi Jhankal deserve a special mention here. Watch out for the emotional scene between Shreyas Talpade (who plays the role of Mahadev, the letter writer) and Ravi Jhankal where you would be turned to tears and yet their first encounter is such a laughter riot that I literally jumped ten feet above my seat because I couldn't contain my laughs.
It is not to say the movie is only on the lighter side. Coming from Shyam Benegal, I had a preconceived notion about the movie being some serious affair, but I was pleasantly surprised. This completes the platter of the legendary director and he has proved his mettle yet again (not that he needs to!)
The only churlish that would spoil the party would be the story of a compounder who falls in love with a widow. The topic could have been given a much better treatment. But the end of their story is truly shocking. So are some brilliant scenes when one does not know what else to do but to feel sad and cry for the characters. The movie doesn't looses its grip and keeps you bound to your chair for the better part of its length. The songs of course are ill timed and some numbers are a sheer pain. But the title track scores a home run.
And it is a respite to see a film totally based on a village (and I presume entirely shot in one too....). The lives of the villagers and their daily doings is a relief to watch amidst the high-action-nonsense movies that flood the mainstream cinemas. There is nothing larger than life about Sajjanpur but the spirit of its villagers, more so that of the protagonist Mahadev who is flawed in many ways, that makes the movie more believable. Amrita Rao, as a Gaon ki Gori, is a delight for the eyes. I don't know if I would recommend to watch Sajjanpur with family but it is definitely a must watch.
For the budding writers I would say you cannot afford to miss this one. The movie seems to have been written very well and the theme surrounds a writer.
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