Well done Abba – review

Shyam Benegal has a distinctive style of film making which was evident in his previous outings. His USP is simple, clean stories with a wonderful scripting. Like his previous movie Welcome to Sarjapur, Well done Abba follows the similar terrain – a story set up in a rustic village, a simple story but a brilliant script. Unlike the usual bollywood movies loaded with slapstick, loud comedies, glam and item numbers, Well Done Abba is a healthy diet of a movie without unnecessary masalas and junks.

Armaan Ali (Boman Irani), a car driver working in Mumbai, returns to his job after 3 months. His boss fires him coz he had originally went on a leave of one month. Armaan pleads his boss to listen to his story. The boss agrees and asks him to narrate the story when they travel from Mumbai to Pune in car. So starts the movie and Benegal takes us to Armaan Ali’s rustic village near Hyderabad and the reason for his delayed return.

When Armaan visits his village he is disappointed by the acute shortage of water there and decides to dig a well. So he runs pillar to post, bribing various government servants to get sanctioned a government scheme for providing well. Finally after all the circus yielding no result, he decides to counter the same officials in a curious, humorous way. I am not letting out the entire plot and be a spoiler.

Benegal in his inimitable style has highlighted the issues of corruption in a humorous way. It was very refreshing to enjoy a sensible comedy. Bomman Irani as usual does a commendable job as Abba and even has a twin brother who is a petty thief. Minisha Lamba as daughter of Bomman Irani is adorable and fits well into the role. Peppered with many interesting characters, all the supporting characters have etched their small roles very well.

GingerChai Verdict: Well done Benegal! I wish audience support such good movies.