Honestly, I don’t quite know what to write; the film, pre and post release has absolutely no buzz. I can’t beleive I went to a Shyam Benegal film and that too a film which is his attempt at making a breezy entertainer. I should have known there is no way he can do it, but i went because I like Shreyas Talpade and Amrita Roa and have a soft corner for movies with a rural backdrop. Although the title states we are welcome to Sajjanpur, the audience are bound to get bored in Sajjanpur with nothing exciting or entertaining hapenning.
There is no plot. Ok, that is fine if the sequences are interesting, but even that is not the case. Shot in typical TV seriel style, the film has no aim and even the intermission shot is the weakest I have ever seen. Even for films with no story or terrible stories, the least a director can do is to have an eventfull Intermission-shot. The film’s main character is Mahadev (Shreyas Talpade) who is the only literate guy in town; BA pass, but not married. He puts up shop just opposite the Post-Office to write letters/postcards/money orders for the village folk. Thats about it. The film just moves from character to character and from episode to episode. The only thread that is consistant is Mahadev’s love for Kamala (Amrita Roa) who is already married so there is no real love story going on also. Apparently, Mahadev last saw Kamala 16 years back when he kissed her cheeck when they were little kids. Oh! please now. Kamala’s husband left her for Mumbai 4 years back and now Mahadev is writing her letters for him and hoping that he abondons her so that he can marry her. what a loser.
Kindly don’t be fooled by other reviews comparing this film to the classic Malgudi Days. Yes, 
there are different characters–a compounder in love with a widow who eventually are hanged, a snake charmer, a superstitious aunt wanting to marry her daughter to a dog as an anti-manglik measure, a hijada wanting to run for elections etc. But none of the characters or their stories are weaved well and they just keep coming and going. At the end Mahadev sells his farms and sends money secretly to Kamala’s husband so that Kamala can go to Mumbai. Mahadev marries another girl at the end and publishes his book with all the stories of his villagers. By the time the film ends, we are shown the publishing house in awe of the stories written by Mahadev about this village folk, but chances are that you will not be in awe. The lack of connection between the characters, their stories, and the absense of a basic story line or plot kill this film.
Shyam Benegal uses this film’s characters to blog about SEZs, bankrupt moral status of our politicians, illiteracy in the face of rising oppulance, the interest rates that are more condusive to buy cars and not tractors thereby affecting agriculture, and every possible affair of the public. All that is fine, but all these messages do make a film interesting. The only redeeming feature of this enterprise is Shreyas Talpade’s spirited performance. The film is boring and whats more if you are not an expert in Hindi or a North Indian then dont even think of wasting money on waiting and renting its DVD because you will find it impossible or difficult to understand the dialect. If you are a Shyam Benegal fan then nobody can save you.
Mr. Inkenti’s Movienomics Verdict: Thumbs Down!
Mr. Inkenti's Weblog 
akash said
crappiest review ever seen i believe reviewer is a fan of films like aag,kompany,dhoka etc do u know the meaning of movie to review at the first place yesterday i saw the movie and it is by far the finest movie of this year after wednesday.
Manjeet said
stupid review. It’s one of the best films of the year. You didn’t understand the dialect, no wonder you gave it such a bad review, and your review is nothing but the story of the film. Give us something real.