Well Done Abba

Well Done Abba screened at the 'Tongues on Fire 12th Asian Film Festival'

Shyam Benegal, one of India's leading filmmakers, is in the UK for a series of events exploring his vast career and celebrating his achievements in Indian cinema.

Festival-goers got the opportunity to preview Benegals latest film the Boman Irani, Sammir Dattani and Minissha Lamba starrer Well Done Abba, described as a very contemporary comedy but also a political satire on well-meaning social legislations to help those below the poverty line. Many of these schemes turn out to be scams.

 "Today our young audiences block themselves from films which have serious content, so I try to engage audiences by making them laugh. This is a new way of attempting to do what I've always done," says the the director.

 The pioneer of Middle Cinema who helped establish a new genre of Indian film in the 1970s, gave his thoughts on the current state of play. "Today there have been so many changes in the film industry. The major cities now all have cinemas and multiplexes. This means you can release films for different audiences as being suitable for either multiplex or single screens. So if for example you release a Shah Rukh film you don't have to worry about smaller towns or single screens," he said.     

 Benegal feels that more cinemas and a widening of audiences is a positive change for less commercial directors.  "Corporates can now create a basket of films and get distribution for directors like Vishal Bhardwaj and Anurag Kashyap. Twenty years ago a film like Dev D might have got made but would never have seen a release."

 The director who last scored at the box office with Welcome to Sajjanpur, spoke about the importance of adequate rehearsals before the camera comes out. "Once you are on the sets the meter is ticking, so I try to prepare as much as I can with the actors before I start shooting."

 Senior Director Shyam Benegal has an enormous prolific body of films that has been highly acclaimed at film festivals world-wide from ‘Ankur’ (43 prizes, India’s Oscar Entry), ‘Nishant’ (Cannes) and ‘Manthan’(India’s Oscar Entry) to ‘Junoon’and ‘Kalyug’ (Moscow), ‘Arohan’ (Karlovy Vary), ‘Samar’ (Rotterdam) and ‘Zubeidaa’.

He has won the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and National Awards for his works. He was    also awarded the highest recognition in Indian Cinema for lifetime acheivement, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.