Upon walking out of Shyam Benegal’s Welcome to Sajjanpur you will not be able to contain the smile on your face. That's the experience of this great film! Mr. Benegal graces Indian cinema with one of the best films this year and analyzing this exhilarating experience will be both enjoyable and immensely difficult at the same time. This is mainly because the movie is so impressive as a whole that it makes it very difficult to pin point the exact thing or things that make it impressive.

To begin with, let me tell you what to expect when you walk into a cinema near you to experience this masterpiece. Firstly, like I’ve just stated, expect to walk out with the biggest smile. Secondly, expect a truly genuine gesture by a filmmaker to explore and display a meaningful genre of cinema. Lastly, expect the unexpected. That is because Welcome to Sajjanpur is not an ordinary experience. It has a coating of a comedy but is essentially a satirical take on rural India. This lays the foundation for Benegal to tackle some of the most contemporary issues and to top it all off the conveys a few extremely valuable lessons.

Mr. Benegal returns to comedy after perhaps two decades and returns to the silver screen after the Karishma Kapoor starrer and critically acclaimed Zubeidaa which struck chords all over. He’s known to make socially relevant movies and rumour had it that Welcome to Sajjanpur would be an out and out comedy. However, because the movie has so many layers, even Benegal's trademark genre is incorporated. This time joining him on this adventurous journey is the immensely talented Shreyas Talpade and the inimitable beauty Amrita Rao.

Welcome to Sajjanpur is the story of a gaon (village) by the name of Sajjanpur, as you may have guessed. In particular, it is the story of Mahadev (Shreyas Talpade) who is the letter writer of the gaon. Mahadev is very intelligent and well-educated but as fate would have it, he was never able to find the job he's most suitable for. Thus, he soon became the letter writer for his village. But Mahadev doesn't just write the letters. He indulges in people's secrets, controversies, and most importantly, their emotions. With his magic words and desire to write novels, Mahadev entwines his emotions within the letters and leaves a piece of his heart with each person's problems. Unconsciously or conciously, he begins to manipulate and influence the situations that he handles within the letters. The consequences of his actions are what Welcome to Sajjanpur is all about!

In a day and age in cinema where it is considered a virtue to tackle difficult subjects, Shyam Benegal goes beyond the regular 'art house' style of cinema and brings us an experience that is more than eye-opening. He challenges a wide range of issues, ranging from democracy to freedom and even homosexuality. To everyone’s surprise, he pull this off with unimaginable élan. What's even more impressive is that nothing is tackled directly, but the issues arise from the dialogues and situations in the movie. The various complexities of the new age comes onscreen through the double meaning of dialogues and Mahadev's interactions with his customers. It's quite common for a filmmaker to fail when dealing with a film that has many tracks or issues, but Shyam Benegal proves that with his passion for cinema and caliber of experience, this feat is quite possible to achieve.

Dialogues by Ashok Mishra are perhaps what make this movie what it is. With a movie set in such a village setting it is crucial for the dialogues to be natural, realistic and effective and Ashok Mishra achieves this very well. In addition, he gives double meanings to all the dialogues which adds several layers to the film. He also deserves credit for the well arranged screenplay. There are portions where you are slightly lost but it's quickly followed by a thorough analysis of the meaning behind the scene.

There are many scenes that strike you throughout the movie however in particular the performance of Mahadev’s ‘krantikari’ or freedom fighter street play is of particular significance. The climax is what makes this movie a winner all the way with a shocking twist and some very eye opening revelations. This is highly effective because with such an impressive climax you walk out feeling absolutely satisfied and blown away! Despite being unconventional, the climax is remains utterly satisfying.

Songs are impressively incorporated and very well picturised. Some may think they are unnecssary because the movie would have been just as brilliant without them. The choreography and set designs of 'Ek Meetha Marz' deserve a special mention. The song is very intelligently crafted to incorporate the two couples (Shreyas/Amrita and Ravi Kishan/Rajeshwari Sachdev). 'Sita Ram' was a hit upon the film's audio release and it’s a pleasure to witness it in the background of the opening credits, especially since it follows the introduction scene of Mahadev in which he explains the importance of Lord Ram’s adventures to the village of Sajjanpur.

Moving on to the performances is perhaps both rewarding and overwhelming because there were just too many that exceeded the ‘outstanding’ mark! To begin with, words are not enough to describe Shreyas Talpade's talent. He outdoes himself with such a natural and heartfelt performance that you can’t imagine him as anyone else but Mahadev. Yet again, Amrita Rao proves that she is one of the best we have! The actress is just so natural in such an unusual role that anyone who saw her in Main Hoon Na or Ishq Vishk couldn’t possibly have imagined she’d ever succeed in such a role. Divya Dutta has very limited scenes but is very likable and finds a special place in your heart after the climax. Ravi Jhankal also excels, as does Yashpal Sharma who’s a complete natural as always. Kunal Kapoor is a very pleasant surprise and because you know so much about his character before he appears on screen you are instantly in love with him even though he’s been in front of you for barely a few minutes. Also, the entire cast must be commended for pulling off a rural Indian accent with such aplomb. Many times in the past I have seen fine performances that are flawed only because a particular accent was required for the character. Thankfully, none of the actors in this film fell into that trap. It's obvious that great time and preparation went into each role and this is visible on-screen.

Summing up the experience of Welcome to Sajjanpur is absolutely impossible. The movie is just jam packed with too much talent and sincerity. Shyam Benegal gives cinema back its true meaning and it’ll be a very long time before any movie reaches this mark. What makes the movie a winner all the way is how Shyam Benegal uses a comic front to present some crucial complexities of our world. Only a cinematic genius like him can achieve this and you will only understand this once you see the film. One hopes that the unconventional appearance of this movie doesn’t take a toll on its performance because if this year has a release that is truly worth two and half hours of your time, it is Welcome to Sajjanpur!

Rating: