Welcome to Sajjanpur is revolves around a uneducated small village in Northern India where letters are still the only mode of communication through a hero, power cuts are a part of daily life and riding a two-wheeler is like a far dream.

Mahadev wants to be a novelist but ends up writing emotional letters for all and diverse. He also reads the replies to those letters and sometimes messes around with the content, especially when it comes to the object of his love, Kamala (Amrita Rao) whose husband Banshi is trying to establish in Mumbai. The two develop a special bond but Kamala is devoted to her husband and Mahadev realizes his modified letters have almost put Banshi’s life in danger. In the meantime, his letters help Ramkumar (Kissen) express his love for widow Shobhaa (Rajeshwari) and Pannawali( Ila Arun) find a suitable groom for her rebellious daughter Vindhya (Divya Dutta). What’s more he also writes letters to the Collector on behalf of election candidates, local goon Ramsingh’s wife and eunuch Munnibai.

For the most part, the movie is a laugh out loud comedy. I loved the chain-letter-with-death-threat scene wherein a villager is ready to spend 200 rupees on forwarding those letters, like the threatening emails and messages we forward. I also liked the street play scene, Ila Arun’s woes about her daughter’s marriage, the chase between the Subedar and Ramkumar, the letter reading between Kamala and Mahadev, the mobile chitti and Munnibai’s entry. The scene where she begs him to write a letter to the Collector for her safety is very emotive and sensitive.

The sets, attires and language lend realism to the movie. The language is slightly hard to understand; you get the idea of the dialogue but not every line. There are ample of jokes on politicians. On the whole Indian village life has been sensibly portrayed, including politics, illiteracy, unfairness and superstition.

Ravi Kissen and Rajeshwari make a presence in their cameo. Divya Dutta is extremely believable as the independent, scooter driving Vindhya. Yashpal Sharma includes another feather to his cap; you disgust him as he commits crimes and walks away freely. As the crying-through-her-nose mother, Ila Arun is very funny and excellent. Amrita Rao is sensitive and expresses through her eyes. She looks very cute too. Shreyas Talpade is clearly the superstar of the film. He is adorable as the clever, fun loving, sometimes selfish yet helpful Mahadev. This is his best performance after Iqbal.

People expecting too much out of Shyam Benegal, considering his past body of work are bound to be disappointed. Still, the weight of expectation aside Welcome To Sajjanpur is not a bad watch- it's honest cinema that's rare to come by these days.