Well Done Abba! 2009 (Movie Review)

Dir: Shyam Benegal
Starring: Boman Irani,
Dur: 2 hrs 24 mins
Genre: Drama
Rating: 4.5/5
Comment: A family movie making a strong point in a humourous way.

This film dwells on a very serious problem afflicting our society, namely, corruption. It traces the story of one man and his hesitant fight against the corrupt system. There is a lot of comedy and a bit of spice but the film remains something to which the common man can relate to. It portrays albeit humourously, his struggles, desires, helplessness and gullibility.

Arman Ali (Boman Irani) is a chauffeur for a businessman in Mumbai. He returns to his hometown with the hope of getting his daughter married and seeing to the care of his ancestral property. His vision is simple: build a well and revive the fields, get a son-in-law to live on the land and till it. The irony is that we are told that it is a drought stricken area but we aren’t shown the plight of the people. We are instead distracted with the tedious efforts of Arman to get his well. We see him pushed around and greasing palms in an all-too-familiar situation. To get his well under a Government scheme, he is amiably harassed and overtly pilfered until he is finally left with nothing more than a file stating his well has been constructed and a heart that is pained at being repeatedly stabbed. With the help of his educated daughter, Muskan (Minissha Lamba) he sets out to obtain justice.


The film has a simple story and is made for the aam aadmi. It is educational and sows ideas for fighting against corruption. It doesn’t however warn that your action against the corrupt officials usually meets with failure and only furthers your pain and humiliation. It gives a very happy and hopeful picture of the way things pan out. It is designed to appeal to the simple Indian mind and meets its purpose. Boman is impeccable despite his double role. He, in fact almost single-handedly carries the film along. Minissha also is a delight to watch and excellently shares the lead role with Boman. I think that the film is very educational and with a good animator, it could be used for galvanizing people to oppose corruption and obtain what is rightfully theirs. 

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