Movie Review : Well Done Abba - Really... Well Done !

 Genre : Comedy (Satire)

Shyam Benegal, the veteran director, the multi-national award winner is back and how ! Welcome to Sajjanpur was just a sign of things to come. Well Done Abba is another delightful film. It's the quaint little, feel good, light hearted movie which also enlightens you about the extent of corruption in the system. Much like "Office Office" it gives you an insider look on the way the officials rob the poor in a humorous way.

It's about this poor driver, who returns to his village to get his daughter married and how he falls into the vicious trap of getting a free well dug in his compound with the help of a lot of corruption! According to a scheme by the government, if you fall under the poverty line, you can get a grant to dig a well in your compound. The poor man, is lured into this mix by the husband of the sarpanch, and the first half revolves around how on every step the officials rob him off his grant. After paying off all of them, he doesn't have money enough to dig a well. The second half deals on how he goes about getting back at his officials.

The music in the movie by Shantanu Moitra is just about bearable. Simply because its not that important! But apart from this everything is awesome. 

Boman Irani is the life of the movie. He doesn't put a single step wrong in his portrayal of a Andhraite. His lingo, mannerism are perfect. This is what sets him apart from most actors today. He is probably the most versatile actor in Indian Cinema today. He plays the 2 roles in this film - of a hard working driver and his rogue brother, to perfection. The surprise package is Ila Arun., who plays the ratty- chatty wife of the rogue brother with perfection. Overall, the ensemble cast, full off good actors, is good. Minissha Lamba is sincere in her portrayal of the daughter of the protagonist and Sameer Dattani also does a good job. 

What is awesome in this satire is the writing. Some of the sequences and the dialogues in this movie are really hilarious. The movie does stray a bit in the middle and you might get thinking where this film is leading, but when you are walking out of the theater you have had a lot of fun and are going out with a feel good factor. And this is the plus point of the movie. Plus, it doesn't have any expectations to overcome. So if you ignore  the length, meanderings in the screenplay and a bit of an overdose of social messages, this film works.

I would recommend this film for a pleasant weekend watch. Well Done Shyamba! Atleast you give opportunities to good actors and make delightful little films which are not pretentious.

Rating : 6 / 10