Well Done Abba – All’s Well Ends Well. Review on Well Done Abba

Well Done Abba – All’s Well Ends Well.

Its nice to see that today’s intelligent audiences are much more willing to accept the films which are unconventional. This, in turn, has given a huge boost to creative kind of film making.

I was eagerly waiting to watch this movie. Shyam Benegal is a living legend. I enjoyed watching most of his movies like Ankur, Mandi, Sardari Begum, Zubeidaa, and the more recent rural comedy welcome to Sajjanpur. Shyam Benegal has always presents unconventional movies that convey inspiring social messages in a very simple style. In this movie also he deals about the deadly corruption disease in government offices.

This movie is adapted from a short story Narsaiyyan Ki Bavdiby Urdu writer Jeelani Bano. &also credits Hindi author Sanjeev’s ‘ Phulwa Ka Pul ’ as its source materials.

Well Done Abba is a very simple plot about one man's struggle to receive a grant from the government to dig a well in the village and his entanglements with corrupt people. This is a film that will inspire & make aware of simple problems made complicated in day today’s life.

The story begins with Armaan Ali (Boman Irani), a car driver in Mumbai, returns to work after several months on leave. He is on the verge of losing his job, when his boss Arif Ali (Sameer dattani) asks him to explain, Armaan finds the opportunity to explain his boss about his village & its basic problems, his twin brother & daughter’s ( Manisha Lamba) marriage.

Armaan Ali (Boman Irani) visits his village & finds shortage of water. Scarcity of water makes him to dig a well for the villagers’ convenience. During this noble act he has to run from pillar to post to all government offices & officials, bribing each & every officer, engineers, collectors & related authorities to dig the well. The director very intelligently conveys the message in a humorous way that we need integrity to run good schemes which are initiated by the government for the people of the country or else those very useful schemes run the risk of becoming scams.

The movie takes off well & the story builds up nicely but begins to lose momentum in the middle. The film is not just a mindless comedy; it’s an entertainer which leaves a message in its own subtle way. Shyam Benagal has successfully given something inspirational and educational to the mainstream audience.

Well Done Abba boasts of some stupendous performances. Shyam Benegal like always manages great performances from his cast. It is Bomman Irani in a spectacular dual role Arman Ali & his twin brother Rehan Ali. He adds dignity and grace to his character and performance. Sameer Dattani & Minissha Lamba surprises with an efficient performances. The other characters Rajendra Gupta, Ravi kissan, Rajit Kapoor & Ila Arun are interesting & deliver natural performances.

Kudos to Shyam Benegal for brilliantly combining the entertaining & enlightening issues which are relevant to today’s society. He narrates the story well and like always relies heavily on the treatment and well etched characters to carry the film.

Shantanu Moitra’s music is good but not great. Meri Banno Hoshiyar, a north Indian wedding song sung by Illa Arun & Daniel George is the best song in the movie. Screenplay by Ashok Mishra is top notch. Ashok Mishra has also penned the perfect, punching & powerful dialogues. The costume designer Pia Benegal deserves special appreciation. Costumes go well with the characters.

Overall, Well Done Abba is a well-directed movie enlightens with its message & makes it a good one time watch. With little patience, one can walk out with a smile. This movie deserves to be seen and appreciated