Today I got the chance to watch Welcome to Sajjanpur. Today's Sunday, I had no engagement, wanted to have some good time, and by chance browsed through the newspaper to know that the film was to be aired on Zee cinema ar 8 p.m.I am really thankful that though the film had been released last year, I did not read any review of the film till date. I only had a vague idea that Welcome to Sajjanpur is a low-budget [?] film which was supposed to be a well-made one, [some critic had dedicated a couple of lines in praise of the film in some different context] and had Amrita Rao in the cast. Only a few days back, while watching the finals of Zee Bangla's children's music reality show Li'l Champs, I heard the song "meetha marz de de" rendered by a kid. I loved the tune, came to know it was by Shantanu Moitra, and searched the net to know it was from Welcome to Sajjanpur. That was the first time that I wished to watch the film, preferably by getting hold of a cd or dvd, because somehow I have observed that Shantanu Moitra generally works for films that are not completely run-off-the-mill. But there were more surprises waiting for me.As the title screen unfolded, and the names of the cast and crew started appearing, I was surprised to find names like Ila Arun, Divya Dutta, Rajeshwari Sachdev and Ravi Kishen among others. To my utter awe, the director was none other than Shyam Benegal and the producers are UTV motion pictures!! [ I blatantly admit here I am highly partial about Ronnie Screwallah from 'The Mathemagic Show' days :) - for no particular reason].Anyway, back to WTS. Sajjanpur is a well-settled village in Bihar [or was it Uttar Pradesh ...it was Bihar only I think]. Mahadev [Sreyash Talpade] is a letter writer in the village. He is well-known for his articulate and effective compositions. Numerous people come to him to get their letters written. The young wife whose husband has not come home for four years, the mother who has a mangalik daughter, the compounder who loves a widow - various commonplace characters who have common problems of life. These characters and the incidents revolving around them create a rich, enjoyable narrative. It was really a treat to watch the film, which offers a feel good effect and makes one realize that life is a mixed bag of love, hate, joy and sorrow.
