welcome to sajjanpur
The name does not really make it sound like a regular bollywood movie. Believe me it is very much and at the same time a wonderful movie.
The director this time is 'Shyam Benegal'. This name again does not connect with bollywood. But believe me this man is truly amazing. Read on to know more.
The story revolves around an educated, unemployed, endearing letter writer named 'mahadev' (Shreyas Talpade) who writes letters for the poor village people for money or no money. You get to see the quirks of village life through his eyes and writing. Its a very simple satirical tale of 'the urban Indian village'. There is a tender love story woven along, which makes the movie even more engaging. The tale cant be revealed here, for the simple reason that it is too simple. You have to watch it to enjoy it !
On the cinematic (storytelling) front, the movie drags initially. But after holding onto it for some time, you want to know what happens next. Like who wins the election, what happens to kamala, what about the mother who wants to marry her mangalik (someone with peculiar celestial patterns in her/his birth chart!!) girl to a dog, to get rid of the foreboding, etcetera to name a few. Its like you become a part of sajjanpur and the villager's daily life becomes yours!
The actors are the credit takers, of course after the director. Shreyas Talpade is just himself. The unconventional village lad, sensitive, over the top at times, sentimental, innocent, thoughtful. He's just perfect! Amrita Rao suits herself totally. She is innocence and simplicity personified. A village belle totally devoted to her husband, his dog and mother. There's of course more to her than the stupid Vivaah (where they totally ruined her innocent quality me thinks)!! Ila Arun as the distraught mother of a 20 yr old, bold, educated, mangalik village girl (Divya Dutta), is again amazing. The character of Munnibai (Ravi Jhankal) has been shaped so well, to focus on diverse cultural and sociological issues. But this does not make the movie serious, mind you. The acting department is 5 star, just kadak, in short!!
Lets talk about the man himself. Mr. Benegal so well knows what he is making. The movie has no bolly ishtyle glitter attached, but it is so mainstream at the same time. The movie remains a romantic comedy in its entirety, a few emotional shades here and there to increase the 'touching movie' quotient. Actually its not deliberate. Everything just fits into place. The nuances of the village life are shown so matter of factly, without lingering on any and thus not losing the crux. Most entertaining product from him!! (i have watched only zubeidaa, but films with names like nishant and manthan, for which he s acclaimed, don't sound like entertaining for masses).
Watch the movie as it will take you to your grandma's town (it took me for a moment), if not you would want to go to a village. Its light hearted as well as meaningful story telling makes it all the more than just a watch. The storyteller deserves to be listened!! (This line will make sense when you watch the movie :))
happy viewing!!
P.S. you can also find something here (Ketaki's blog).