Well Done Abba Movie Reviews

The patriarch of parallel cinema returns with a film that suitably showcases why the Indian new wave of the 1970's was such a sterling movement that pioneered a whole new trend of high art and wholesome meaning in desi cinema. Yes, today, when the industry is throwing up another whole new wave of experimental cinema, Shyam Benegal's Well Done Abba emerges as some kind of a benchmark for our current brat pack who want to say so much, so very differently. The film unfolds like a gentle symphony -- never over the top, never hysterical -- even as it ends up as a hard-hitting satire on the entire misnomer of `India Shining', India growing, India evolving, et al.

Shyam Benegal has this uncanny knack of taking the viewer to rural life and bringing the interiors of India alive on screen. WELL DONE ABBA is another from his stable after the superhit, WELCOME TO SAJJANPUR. This time, he takes us to Chikkadpally, in the heart o Hyderabad. The subject chosen is one that bothers all and the way Benegal narrates his story through the central character is novel, yet hilarious.

A “mota taaza” Armaan Ali (Boman Irani), with a thick Hyderabadi twang, drives a Mercedes Benz in Mumbai. He’s still poor enough to fake a ‘Below Poverty Line (BPL)’ certificate from a local office. Not a surprise. Even a minister had recently found himself under the said BPL list. At least Armaan’s a chauffeur by profession -- the Merc’s his boss’s. His is a more genuine case. On payday, Armaan says, he falls above the poverty line.

He may have toned down over the years, the stone throw might have been replaced by a soft knock, the war cry traded for a sarcastic chuckle — but there’s no denying the fact that a Shyam Benegal release is as much an event for us as a Martin Scorsese or Clint Eastwood film in Hollywood. And especially so after Welcome to Sajjanpur, where Shyam Babu cracked the multiplex code and let his old wave rise in the all-new waters.

Well Done Abba is not your usual comic fare. This Shyam Benegal film gives a strong message without compromising on its entertainment quotient. Do watch this one.

In its attempt at depicting life in semi-rural Andhra Pradesh Well Done Abba appears not so much to fail, as to offer a version of such lives crystallized from Bollywood's limited engagement with the region and its people. So the dialect is there but different actors have varying degrees of fluency with it. In its attempt at underlining the frustrations of an average man trying to wend his way through the system, it paints a disturbing picture. But because it plays the events for laughs rather than pathos, I wonder whether the impact of the real situation will be felt (or appreciated) by us city folk without ties to the rural life.

Well Done Abba is a sweet, whimsical political satire, quite a rare breed in Bollywood. Veteran director Shyam Benegal explores the familiar theme of corruption and inefficiency in small town India in his wry, deliberate manner, a refreshing change in these hypercharged days. Boman Irani plays Armaan Ali, a driver from Hyderabad, who is working in Mumbai. When he returns two months late from a holiday, his boss decides to sack him

Despite being a trail and tribulation journey, Benegal’s direction has a feel-good charm to it. His storytelling is so straightforward that even when the film extends beyond its climax into a celebratory song, you don’t mind much. Ashok Mishra’s hilarious dialogues have a countryside authenticity to it and Benegal ensures that the peculiar traits and accents of each character are well captured.

Adapted from ''Narsaiyyan Ki Bavdi'' by Jeelani Bano, ''Phulwa Ka Pul'' by Sanjeev and ''Still Waters'', a screenplay treatment by Jayant Kripalani, WELL DONE ABBA! is a simple story about simple people and is told in the most simplistic manner, like all Benegal movies. On the whole, WELL DONE ABBA! has some wonderful moments, but they're few and far between. It holds appeal for a tiny sect of viewers, mainly Shyam Benegal fans.

It's not one thing, it's actually quite a few things. And if you have the time, patience and eager ear to listen in, these stories will resonate all around you. At least, in my case, it has. More often than not, it has been my lot to partake in the woes, triumphs, random gibberish and general small-talk of the kind folk driving me to my varied destinations. When Well Done Abba starts, it is on a sombre note.

Well Done Abba also tries to tackle too many issues – there is a nod at women’s rights, a quick mention of the right to information act and a climactic plea for religious tolerance. The end result is that Well Done Abba is heart-felt and intermittently funny but not flat-out delightful like Benegal’s last film Welcome to Sajjanpur. You need oodles of patience to enjoy this one. I recommend that you wait for the DVD so you can speed up things yourself.

Shyam Benegal gives us another satirical-rustic-drama that blows the Indian governmental machinery to smithereens in Well Done Abba. While his last film Welcome to Sajjanpur took a serious look at illiteracy, caste politics et al, Abba is an expose of corruption and red-tapism that hinders all development in remote areas. And Benegal carefully chooses the regular sarkari yojnas or schemes, that fall apart almost as soon as they begin, as his point of edification.

Two years back, Shyam Benegal revived the rural landscape in Hindi cinema with `Welcome to Sajjanpur’. He’s back with another slice of the countryside in `Well Done Abba’ : the only way to sell the village to multiplex audience is have an English title. Part irony, part reality, pretty much the tone of Benegal’s films. `Well Done Abba’ scores on a couple of counts. By getting Boman Irani to play Armaan Ali

Boman Irani goes to his village and applies for funds to dig a well under the well-digging scheme of his governmen...