User reviews

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", the latest offering from Shyam Benegal is strictly made on the similar lines of his previous "Welcome to Sajjanpur", but tries to tackle too many important issues in only one project. With a feeble basic story line, the movie tries to convey almost all the major problems faced by the rural areas still fighting for their existence in an otherwise developed country. It majorly talks about a less educated village person who wishes to have his own well in front of his house as per the New Government Policy of that region. The viewer is made familiar with all the protocol problems he has to face while interacting with the government officials for getting the job done. Along with that the director tries to showcase several sensitive issues such as human labour, illiteracy, girl education in villages, selling of young girls to Sheikhs, status of women in Indian rural politics, corruption in Public Distribution System and many more in a single movie which at times seems to be over lengthy and un-required at places.

The long duration of the movie, its slow pace and the consistent Hyderabadi lingo used throughout the movie are the other few things which go against the movie and reduce its chances to win over the common man entering the theater purely for his entertainment.

But for lovers of off-beat subjects and fans of Shyam Benegal kind of cinema, "Well Done Abba" is another soft gem from the master film-maker with an important message for the society. Interestingly, the movie starts very slowly and keeps on growing on the viewers mind at its own pace. You need to have patience to sit through its first half as it's only towards the intermission and post interval that you get more engrossed into the subject and start enjoying it with a more realistic feel. However there are certain sequences which go over the top like writing a report against a lost well, a police officer with no major case to work on, an over sexual government official and a marriage song coming just before the movie ends. Some of these sequences should have been easily edited out in order to give a more crispier product to the viewers, because ideally a project based on rural settings with a social message should only be around 2 hours of duration to leave an impact.

Apart from these few hic-ups, "Well Done Abba" has some great performance worth watching. The best act comes from Boman Irani, as Abba who is simply superb in his very subtle portrayal of the character. Never in the movie, he reacts in anger to the tough situations faced in the government offices. On the contrary his innocent responses towards the corrupt officials happen to be the main highlight of the movie. For instance, just look out Boman's reaction in the climax, when he comes to know that the boy he has chosen for his girl is an orphan without any religion. Moreover, Boman performs a double role in the movie of two real brothers with great conviction. It's really commendable for a person to achieve such heights in a profession which he opted for only after the age of 40. Unarguably it's one of the finest performance of Boman till date.

Minnisha Lamba is another surprise package of the movie. She completely transforms herself into her on screen character and excels. Out of the rest, Samir Dattani, Ravi Kishen and Rajendra Gupta have performed excellently. But I really felt that the Ravi Kishen plot of the movie should have been treated more gracefully on the screen. Shantanu Moitra's musical score is fine but strangely there is very minimum use of Indian instruments in the songs set in the rural areas, particularly the marriage song towards the end.

Adapted from three different sources, "Narsaiyyan Ki Bavdi' by Jeelani Bano, "Phulwa Ka Pul" by Sanjeev and "Still Waters" by Jayant Kriplani, "Well Done Abba" has surely got the much acclaimed Benegal kind of treatment all over. It also reminds you of the famous T.V. serial "Office Office" in which Pankaj Kapoor played a similar kind of character quite close to that of "Abba". Regarding the star-cast of the movie, I was really surprised by the minuscule roles given to the two favourite actors of the director in the industry. Using almost the same team of actors since his "Suraj Ka Satwan Ghoda", this time the director gives very less importance to both Ila Arun and Rajit Kapoor who have been part of the director's every major product since the 90s. Along with them, another talented actress, Sonali Kulkarni is also simply wasted in a silly kind of role of a newly married lady.

In the end, I would surely like to add that "Well Done Abba" is apparently not everyone's cup of tea. But you may start liking the taste, if you keep sipping the tea with patience. And for all of the readers who haven't seen the other world famous gems of the master film-maker…… This is not one of Benegal's finest works, as he is on the path of trying new styles of story-telling with the changing times. So don't form any opinion about him by just watching some of his recent works.

Shyam Benegal has got loads of text book material on film-making stuffed in his rich movies repertoire of the past. Hence start exploring NOW!

I didn't think much about the movie for the initial part as it was a bit slow for my liking but then the twist in the story made it very interesting to watch. It is worth every penny. A true reflection of Hindi Cinema and the movie takes a dig at day to day life of a man grappling with corruption at every level of the system. Boman Irani played the role to perfection and his other role distinguished properly in its attire,and behaviour by the director. Ila Arun was at her amazing best. Most of the star cast is from his previous movie Welcome to Sajjanpur. The sort of movie you would expect from a master like Shyam Benegal. A MUST WATCH...

Good movie, I always liked Boman Irani and thought he was a very good actor. But unfortunately he has given a pathetic performance here

This movie could have been so much better , a master piece in fact but like uncountable Bollywood movies it ends up short in just being a good movie.

It tells us the story of a below middle class Muslim father who wants to get his daughter married and takes a month off from his work to go to his village and find suitors for his daughter. As he goes to his village, he is compounded by many problems that face any average villager in India.

In a nutshell this is a story of an average villager in India. It is a good movie, but had the potential to be a classic, had the performances been better. It also has very serious editing issues that should have been addressed. There are various superfluous sub-plots that do no contribute in any manner to the movie. Hence it just ends up being a good movie

7/2\10

well, finally comes a movie after 3 idiots which u can be proud of, really splendid work by the cast nd director. The plot is engaging: it deals with corruption in such a believable way that u get a leaf on how to live your life mow a days. By the way, I really didn't know Minisha Lambha can be so convincing and lovable, I mean she perfectly fits her part and plays it superbly. And yes, no amount of words can do justice to double role essayed by BOMAN IRANI, again showing marks of a great actor, albeit a little bit putting effort this time which really shows. His portrayal of a simple, honest and truthful man really deserves standing applause for the manner in which he gets into the skin of the character and lives it. the music of this movie was d only thing which disappointed me, solely because it wasn't that soothing and relaxing or foot tapping, as it had only 1 song, but it wasn't suppose to be a musical, was it? This movie can be called a perfect foil for Rang De Basanti, if RDB leaves u wid a question, WDA gives u an answer; if RDB stirs your soul, WDA steadies it and gives it some relief. So really go for a superb treat for eyes and start thinking yourself or maybe acting yourself on how to change the system.

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.

Boman Irani presides over 3/4 th or more of the movie. This fact saves the day.

Directed by Shyam Benegal and written by Ashok Mishra the movie should have been something special but somehow the story and screenplay don't gel. The lack of wit, humour and sarcasm in the Screenplay barring a few scenes leave the task to entertain the audience solely upon the Story which I must say is a tough ask for any story , at any given point of time.

The story moves at a slow pace in the first half and somehow fails to churn out a plausible relationship between the various elements introduced in the movie. Trying to weave an unconventional pattern or should I say more of a traditional folklore pattern in terms of narration Benegal fails to strike the right notes for some reason.

The movie gains pace with time but throws up nothing which is new and groundbreaking in terms of story or treatment of subject matter.

The second half moves at a good , entertaining pace but that's about it.

The story reminds one of good old Hindi Literature where the common man's plight is depicted in a self mocking way. In that sense it was a tad different than the content available today, but that by itself doesn't elevate the movie to a higher cinematic plane.

The screenplay most of all lets the story down. Genuine Humour is missing from it and it is only the situational humour which accounts for any comic elements. The Dialogues lack punch and wit is evidently absent , although one would have expected such a movie to have sharp witted innuendos in abundance. The Characters speak and are tolerable in parts. No real sting in the Screenplay, it's quite morose actually.

With some needless and tawdry elements in place the movie tarnishes it's own clean image .

In the performance department Boman Irani stands out . His exhibition of a Hyderabadi man should be applauded if not for it's perfection then at least for his versatility. On the whole the acting was good , may be overdone in some instances but no real complaints. Yashpal Sharma does well again , so do the other actors . One thing though, some of them didn't fit in at all with their character . Minisha Lamba, Rajit Kapoor and to some extent Dattani all exuded a misfit's aroma on screen.

The real problem lay with the story and more so with the screenplay.

Could have been a much more funny and relevant movie but for it's inherent defects in the above mentioned departments.

Wow, I am totally impressed by this film. And the title fits with this film perfectly, genius! I have seen quite a few Indian films, most of them are about girls getting married to good guys which can get quite boring after a while. This is the first serious Indian film that I have ever seen.

And it is not about the rich or powerful, it is not about girls getting married, there was no fancy dresses, big mansions, happy rich people, etc. It is actually talking about the common village people who have to face bureaucracy and fight against bureaucracy. Unlike some other political films, this one actually makes me laugh. It is dark and serious, it is a comedy. And unlike some other typical Indian films which beautiful people dress nicely, dance at nice beautiful places, this film featured common Indian people.

The film is really that good. I doubt that it can be made by any other countries. Hollywood certainly can't make a film like this, because this sort of thing is unlikely in the USA. Chinese people have to face the same bureaucracy, but the Chinese government certainly won't approve a film project like this one. Hopefully after the communist government is overthrown by the Chinese people soon, some Chinese director will be able to make a similar movie just like this one for the Chinese people.

I also liked that song about democracy. Most Indian film songs are about love, how boring. This is the first time I have actually heard an Indian version song about democracy! Excellent.

Everyone should watch this, especially Chinese directors. I really hope that one of them will make one for the Chinese people.

It's a known scenario how corrupt government officers are these days and common people are the one who suffer the most to get services. They need to bribe the officers at every level; and still their things aren't done> Especially in the rural areas where people are uneducated or are under poverty line, the government officials are exploiting the people to fill their pockets. The scenario has been created of a village where Boman Irani, a poor driver, applies for a government scheme for the grant to dig a well in his field. But in the process he learns he has to bribe every officer to get his government grant just to see his well has been completed only in the government report not in the actual field. However, he gets his right and how he gets has been presented in a jovial mood full of wittiness and surprises.

Boman Irani makes a superb performance of a common man tormented by government officials. His lowered head in front of every officer explains the torture of the officers by depriving the common people of their rights. Overall the film presents a satire on government system and reveals how corrupt the officers have become today. Late Jaspal Bhatti used to present such satires through his series, "Flop Show." Only a problem of the film is the length it goes for which could have been trimmed a bit and songs and few situations don't have a nice link to the main plot. However, the film remains commendable for raising a social issue and resolving it in a witty manner which can serve as an eye opener to the concerned.

Rating: 2 stars out of 4

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! ;)

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.

Shyam Benegal's "Welcome to Sajjanpur" was a perfect balance of his art cinema sensibilities with make suit for contemporary times. His new outing "Well Done Abba" treads the similar path. The most positive aspect of "Well Done Abba" is the screenplay which is very genuine to its heart. The scene construction is extremely authentic. The characters make you wonder if they are indeed real. And the sole credit goes to none other than Shyam Benegal.

In terms of performance Rajat Kapoor, Ravi Kishen, Ila Arun, Salim Ghouse and the conniving Boman Irani (Rehmaan Ali) hog the limelight. Special mention is reserved for Rajendra Gupta whose accent, mannerism was genuine to the core (note the plastic smile he wears). And yes Minisha Lamba is a revelation indeed. Samir Dattani was OK (there was something lacking in his performance). Finally Boman Irani in the role of Armaan Ali - he was a complete miscast (Note: Its an opinion, and I am entitled to one). Blame it on the stereo-typing of the roles Boman has done so far or it could be halo effect. It was quite evident that he was putting up appearances. Om Puri was ideal for the role in question. Sonali Kulkarni - what was she thinking when she signed the dotted line?

A select few characters speaking in Deccani lingo was OK, but everyone? Not at all a good idea. The songs were not in sync with the plot and appeared copy-paste. Incorporating the the wedding song "Okkati Rendu Moodu" made me feel sorry for Shyam Benegal. The entire narrative in the flashback was not warranted. And the last 30-minutes should have been trimmed.

PS: Way back in the glorious days of Doordarshan, I have seen the non- glamorised version of this story in "Ek Kahani".

Shyam Banagal has done a great job in explicit showing the level of corruption existing in the rural government office level. This is what happens in most cases where the government worker takes signature on blank paper and write what ever they want which any how the villager cannot read and write or takes percentages from any money provided by government to rural folks. It's a simple and straight forward movie, songs were irrelevant and not required. Acting by Boman Irani and Manisha Lamba has been very good and shows the real situation and simplicity. The misdeeds happening in the government has been shown as humor when it conveys the message clearly but does not attack any one. Overall an excellent topic and movie.

Being a fan of Benegal I decided to give this film a chance and wow I was absolutely surprised!

The primary thing in the movie is obviously the fantastic performance by none other than Boman! This guy has revived the definition of what really good acting is in this current generation.

Joining hands with him is the talented and gorgeous Minisha Lamba who gives a great hand in glove support.

Speaking of the rest, everyone has done a really great job of their roles. Oh yes there is a fabulous performance from Ravi Kissen here supported aptly by Sonali Kulkarni.

Overall a really good film that deserves to be appreciated and this is really one of those films that irrespective of plot and grandeur casting, still manages to impress you

Background music is missing, but the movie is so beautifully written. Three words describes this movie- Simple, Sober, Beautiful.

It will definitely put a smile on your face with a fresh mind when the movie is over.

Not stupid stories like modern days but infact a good story.