Well Done Abba

When Shyam Benegal released Welcome to Sajjanpur, most scorned @ the concept and all but wrote him off.  But as they say, form is temporary and class is permanent.  With Well Done Abba (WDA) Shyam Benegal proves once again that he was, is and will be one of the best directors India has ever had and can expect to have – this time with a not so intense but very pointed take on the corruption food chain.

Arman Ali (Boman Irani) is in trouble.  He has returned back to work as a driver to Rohan Kapoor (Rahul Singh) in Mumbai after 3 months.  The trouble is that he had taken leave for only a month.  Obviously Rohan doesn’t want to have him back.  And it is not the first time that Arman Ali has decided to take off for a few extra days.  But this time around, Arman has an extremely genuine reason.  But not one that can be explained over the phone or a 5 minute conversation.  The complexities of the issue that Arman had faced over the past 3 months can be only understood if one were to give him an uninterrupted listen.  Rohan is in a rush and needs to get to Pune.  Seizing the opportunity, Arman Ali offers to drive him down and explain the issue en route.  Luckily for him, Rohan says OK.

Arman Ali reaches Chikatpally, a village close to Hyderabad. All this thanks to a panic telegram from his brother Rahman Ali (Boman Irani) stating that his daughter, Muskaan (Minisha Lamba), has come of age and that he needs to be more attentive – a very polite way to say that its time to get her married off. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever progress.  I mean whats the point of getting a girl married @ 17????  Nevertheless, when Arman gets back, he finds that there are larger worries that bother the village.  Chief amongst them being a severe water shortage.  However, he also finds out that the government is working towards building wells for the truly needy – those below the poverty line (BPL).  So starts Arman’s effort to procure his own “Bavdi” (A Well that has water in it for those unfamiliar with the local lingo in Andhra.

Well Done Abba is one of the most educational movies that I have ever seen.  It is a movie with a purpose unlike most others which try to do so but fall flat as prey to just simple entertainment.  Now I don’t mean to say that other movies do not try to send a message across. Its just that the message gets lost in the overall idea of giving the audience an entertaining couple of hours and does not really provoke thought.  That doe not make them bad movies per se.  In sharp contrast, Shyam Benegal has courageously tried to expose the gangrene that has set in the system and how government officials eat away most of the tax payer’s money.  I am given to understand that the movie is an adaptation of a Marathi play.  Would love to get and opportunity to watch it.  Other than the core issue at hand it also sends strong messages for the development of the girl child, moving away from the archaic caste system and also touches upon the issue of “bride sales”.  All of this very interestingly but noticeably woven into the overall message of standing up against corruption at the grass root levels and how each one of us can make a difference. 

What also helps Shyam Benegal is that he is working with a cast that has predominantly moved in from theatre into the large screen.  It is next to impossible to find flaw in Boman Irani’s acting talent and WDA just goes one step further to cement his position as probably the best comedian and one of the best actors of our time.  Actors like Yashpal Sharma, Ravi Kishen and Sonali Kulkarni seamlessly step into their roles of a sidekick constable, a Government Engineer and the Engineer’s wife withtou any effort whatsoever.  Stand out performance by Minisha Lamba – yes, there is a lot of potential there – just needs the right director to extract it out of her. I would highly recommend WDA not just for the messaging but also for the comeback of one of the best directors of our time. Had it not been for a couple of songs that were not required, it would have easily been an 8 on 10.  That’s probably the only place where Benegal could have done with some cuts. 7.5 on 10 from my side. Watch it!!!