Well Done Abba!

The English word WELL has two meanings - one is good or fine and the other one is the cylindrical shaped excavation in the soil for getting underground water for drinking purposes. This movie refers to both the meanings in its title.

As another word - ABBA in the title suggests, this movie is the story of a Muslim gentleman and his daughter. Arman Ali, working as a driver in Mumbai, visits his village Chikatpally in Andhra Pradesh to arrange his daughter - Muskan's marriage who lives with his twin brother - Rehman Ali and his wife. The water problem in the village prompts him to take the benefit of the govt.'s scheme in which financial assistance is provided to the people living below poverty line (BPL) for making BAAWARIs or the in-house wells for fulfilment of domestic drinking water needs. Undergoing a long chain of corruption in the system, the originally naive and clean-hearted Arman Ali gets frustrated to find that the major chunk of the govt. assistance has been stomached by the corrupt officials and allieds, leaving him with a Baawari on paper only. His witty daughter shows him the way to get the better of the system by using the system itself and ultimately they succeed in attaining their objective. In their compaign, an automobile mechanic Arif, becomes their comrade in the fight against the system.

The old war-horse, Shyam Benegal who has given Hindi cinema, gems like Ankur, Nishant, Mandi, Sardari Begum and Zubeida, was back with a bang with Welcome to Sajjanpur two years back, blending his art work with commercial elements. He has treaded the same path in Well Done Abba too. Perhaps, after spending more than four and a half decades in film industry, he has realised that box office success should accompany critical acclaim for saving the art from perishing. He has repeated the support cast of his earlier ventures in this film too and the film has a clear stamp of the filmmaker's name upon it.

The first half of the movie is thoroughly gripping and very real in which the director has shown the dirt of the Indian govt. system and work culture in which the money entitled by the common man is swallowed by the corrupt establishment in unison with the contractors, photographers etc. But the second half, showing the fight of Arman Ali in order to get his Baawari in real and not just on paper, is damn unreal. To suit his cinematic objective, the director has not shown the policewallas as corrupt whereas it is difficult to digest that the policemen are not corrupt whereas the complete establishment which they are associated with, is full of corrupt people only. Had Mr. Benegal shown the policemen also corrupt, his story would not have even taken off post interval. The events shown in the movie after the interval are artificial (and boring too). Perhaps to consume the 16 reels and 135 minutes time of the movie, the director has gone for the romantic angle also and quite superfluously imposed a marriage song in the concluding minutes of the movie which irritates the viewer. The several love-making scenes of the engineer and his wife uselessly forced in the narrative, too give a bad taste.

However, the overall impact of the movie is very good upon the audience. Myself, being a villager by birth and presently living near the Hyderabad city, is very glad to see the lively and realistic portrayal of village life coupled with the utterly human depiction of the lower middle class Muslim families in Andhra Pradesh, their pains and hopes, their tears and smiles; all so natural that a viewer familiar with these things, gets a feel of 3-D effect. Even the language used by the characters is Hyderabadi Hindi which is actually spoken by the Hyderabadi Muslims.

The storyteller has effectively and vividly made satirical comments upon the so-called empowerment of women through Panchayati Raj (local bodies) in India by showing that their chauvinistic husbands not only grab and misuse their constitutional power and position but also humiliate them, making them feel time and again that they are no better than a footwear for them (men).

The acting of Boman Irani touches new horizons in every succeeding movie and Well Done Abba is no exception. This time, in a double role, he has done an outstanding job. He is in the lead role this time and proves that he is dependable. Minissha Lamba as his daughter, has proved that she can be up to the mark when given a meaty role. Sameer Dattani as Arif is lovable. The complete support cast who can be termed as Benegal's team, has given excellent support to the leading father-daughter duo.

The complete background music is nothing but the Indian folk music and gives a soothing experience when blended with the relevant scenes on the screen. The composition of the songs as well as the lyrics, both are pretty good. Cinematography, costumes and art direction is par excellence. Editor's laxity, though, has made the movie lengthier by 10-15 minutes. Though the Baawari Ratna awardal ceremony scene just before the end of the movie, makes the audience laugh, the other 10-15 minutes' footage prior to end, is quite superfluous.

Benegal Saheb has changed himself with the changing times and that's why he now tries to entertain the audience too while giving them his intended message through the movie. But this exercise of this legendary filmmaker has made his recent products real in parts only, following Raj Kapoor's proclamation in Mera Naam Joker - Kehta Hai Joker, Saara Zamaana, Aadhi Haqeeqat, Aadha Fasaana (The whole world is half the reality and half the fiction).

Deserves a watch.

Well Done Abba, saw this movie last night and it was good, the story which revolves around a well that was never dug is just awesome, it was handled very sincerely, The corruption that goes on in Indian Administration is very well depicted, from a Peon to the Collector how they exploit people is shown with sincerity and truth and this was a tongue in cheek comedy...

The issues taken up in the movie were true to life, like the marriage of a girl to a sheik and the corruption....

Boman Irani was just awesome, Minisha Lamba and her boyfriend was well suited and wonderful in their respective roles, Ila Arun in a small role was good... Ram Kishen as a Boob Frenzy Husband was good... The Confused Police Officer was wonderful...

But the Hyderabadi lingo wasn't so accurate as it should have been...

Story - 7/10...Actors- 10/10....Overall - 9/10

This one is another fine piece of work delivered by Shyam Bengal after Welcome to Sajjanpur. Apart from direction the next credit goes to the casting team for choosing the right actor for leading this project i.e. Boman Irani.

You are going to love this light hearted dramedy about the struggle of a lower middle class (barely literate) man to do something good for his family and society.

Manisha Lamba surprisingly delivered one of the best acts of her career I would say and the presence of Ravi Kishan as a Sub-Engineer adds the much needed extra flavour to this classic.

In a recent interview given to a reporter after movie "Ferrari ki Sawari", a question was asked from Boman that which movie is closest to his heart. Boman modestly answered that all the movies are special but "Well done Abba" has a special place in his heart.

Though it's quite old movie, I only watched it in fractions until today when I watched it completely and throughly enjoyed every single moment of it.

It's another brilliant performance by the versatile Boman Irani and the other characters in the movie are crafted nicely as well. And the movie does leave a mark on your heart.

The well known situation of corruption at every level is portrayed in a light hearted manner and how Abba fights with it is a treat to watch. This reminds me of the movies like "Khosla ka Ghosla" which is a story of another common man and how he faces and overcomes the challenges with the support of family and friends.

If you still haven't watched it for some reason, put it towards the top in your Watchlist! ;)

One of India's finest filmmakers is back once again with a comedy. Shyam Benegal's previous film, 'Welcome to Sajjanpur' was a delightful little comedy set in a little rural village inhabited by colourful characters. 'Well Done Abba' follows a similar path. It feels like a splendid little folktale on screen. Benegal's screenplay is a lot tighter than it was in 'Welcome To Sajjanpur' which had it's share of drawbacks, like songs appearing out of nowhere (and were completely irrelevant to the story). Here too the characters are quirky, colourful, likable and recognizable. The narrative flows smoothly and the humour works wonderfully. The songs are nice and most of them play in the background. Benegal also captures the Hyderabadi culture very well. The art direction, sets, costumes and even the mannerisms of the actors appear authentic. Boman Irani is excellent as Rehmaan Ali. He delivers a balanced and suitably performance unlike the loud and irritating acting that is evident in his other movies. However, as Armaan Ali, he is less impressive. Ila Arun, Rajit Kapur and Ravi Kishan are fantastic. Sonali Kulkarni is hilarious in a tiny role. Minisha Lamba displays one of her finest piece of acting in her career. Sammir Dattani is passable.

Overall, 'Well Done Abba' is a treat to watch. The title works on multiple levels. Well Done, Mr. Benegal.