Shyam
Benegal
says
that
his
ambitious
Indo-Sri
Lankan
project
Buddha
has
been
put
on
the
backburner,
thanks
to
International
recession
which
has
taken
a
toll
on
the
project.
How
relevant
is
the
title
Well
Done
Abba
to
your
film?
I
am
of
the
opinion
that
any
title
refers
to
a
film
in
one
way
or
the
other.
Well
Done
Abba
is
what
a
child
tells
her
father.
The
relationship
between
the
father
Armaan
Ali
and
his
daughter
Muskaan
constitutes
the
intriguing
point
of
the
film
and
offers
to
the
viewer,
a
direct
connection
with
the
film
itself.
When
my
line
producer
suggested
the
title,
I
readily
accepted
it.
What
exactly
is
the
premise
of
your
film?
The
premise
of
my
film
is
very
simple.
The
film
is
about
a
driver
of
an
executive
in
Mumbai
who
takes
leave
for
a
month
to
get
his
daughter
married.
He
gets
caught
up
with
various
other
things
and
comes
back
to
Mumbai
after
three
months.
When
his
boss
threatens
to
sack
him,
he
starts
telling
him
about
what
happened
in
the
three
months.
It
forms
the
crux
of
the
film.
Well
Done
Abba
is
hilarious
at
one
level
and
touches
you
at
another.
It
is
a
political
satire,
though
the
approach
is
comical.
It
is
a
happy
comedy
with
a
touching
story.
Has
your
approach
as
a
director
become
more
linear
with
Welcome
To
Sajjanpur?
You
choose
a
subject.
Some
subjects
lend
themselves
to
comic
treatment
whereas
some
need
a
serious
approach.
The
form
dictates
the
content
depending
on
whatever
subject
you
have.
I
have
always
believed
that
the
content
is
of
primary
importance
when
you
set
out
to
make
a
film.
You
should
also
remember
that
over
the
years,
ever
since
I
had
made
Ankur,
ways
to
connect
with
the
audiences
have
also
changed
because
the
younger
audiences
is
much
exposed
to
the
media
today.
Today"s
audiences
are
much
more
willing
to
accept
even
films
which
are
not
conventional.
This,
in
turn,
has
given
a
huge
boost
to
creative
kind
of
film
making.
What
kind
of
a
relationship
do
you
generally
share
with
your
actors?
As
a
director,
I
enjoy
working
with
all
my
actors,
because
I
feel
that
they
are
the
life
and
blood
of
every
film
that
you
set
out
to
make.
It
does
not
matter
whether
the
actor
is
new
like
say
Minissha
Lamba
or
an
established
one
like
say
Shabana
Azmi,
Naseeruddin
Shah
or
for
that
matter
Ila
Arun.
Why
do
you
give
preference
to
making
films
with
the
rural
backdrop?
It
is
a
wrong
notion
that
I
prefer
to
make
films
with
the
rural
backdrop.
Though
I
have
made
a
few
films
with
the
rural
backdrop,
I
have
also
to
my
credit
quite
a
few
films
which
have
the
urban
back
drop.
I
could
not
have
possibly
made
films
like
say
Zubeida
or
Sardari
Begum
with
the
urban
back
ground.
Nor
could
I
have
possibly
made
Kalyug
with
a
rural
backdrop.
What
is
the
USP
of
Well
Done
Abba?
The
story
and
the
performance
are
the
USP
of
the
film.
This
along
with
the
music
by
Shantanu
Moitra,
who
has
to
his
credit
as
a
music
director
films
like
Lage
Raho
Munnabhai
and
Parineeta
besides
my
Welcome
To
Sajjanpur.
Do
you
drive
home
any
subtle
message
to
the
audiences
with
Well
Done
Abba?
In
the
garb
of
a
political
satire,
I
have
set
out
to
drive
home
the
message
that
you
need
integrity
to
run
good
schemes
which
are
initiated
by
the
government
for
the
people
of
the
country
or
else
those
very
schemes
run
the
risk
of
becoming
scams.
Was
Boman
Irani
the
first
choice
for
your
film?
Correct
casting
is
the
most
important
factor
when
you
set
out
to
make
a
film.
It
is
not
important
whether
the
actor
is
the
first
or
the
second
choice
for
the
film.
Boman
is
a
very
good
actor
with
a
wide
range.
What
I
like
in
Boman
is
his
versatility,
commitment,
passion
and
discipline.
Besides
the
fact
that
he
fits
the
age
of
the
part
in
Well
Done
Abba,
Boman
is
also
adept
enough
to
sing
and
dance
and
is
also
versatile
enough
to
do
a
comedy
scene
or
a
tragedy.
I
am
glad
I
cast
him
in
my
film.
I
wonder
who
else
would
have
fitted
the
bill
in
case
he
had
not
agreed
to
act
in
my
film.
In
what
way
has
your
transition
from
ad
films
to
feature
films
helped
you
as
a
director?
If
you
come
from
a
background
of
ad
films,
you
have
a
greater
control
over
the
medium.
Economy
of
cinematic
expression
is
of
essence.
If
you
can
say
in
just
one
single
sentence
what
other
directors
take
a
paragraph
to
narrate,
your
work
will
be
appreciated,
like
R.
Balki
and
Raju
Hirani.
More
than
even
a
stint
in
TV,
your
experience
in
ad
films
teaches
you
brevity
as
a
filmmaker.
Why
is
there
a
lull
as
far
as
making
serials
is
concerned,
after
Bharat
Ek
Khoj
and
Katha
Sagar?
Cinema
is
larger
than
life
and
uses
a
lot
of
space
whereas
people
feel
that
TV
is
smaller
than
life.
I
feel
that
relationship
with
time
and
space
is
different
on
TV,
for
the
simple
reason
that
you
tend
to
lose
all
details
on
TV.
As
a
filmmaker
I
should
get
challenged
to
make
any
project,
whether
it
is
a
film
or
for
that
matter
a
TV
show.
If
a
TV
project
is
not
as
challenging
as
Bharat
Ek
Khoj
or
Katha
Sagar,
I
am
not
game
to
do
a
TV
show.
If
I
take
the
easy
way,
I
may
just
end
up
as
yet
another
run
of
the
mill
director.
Is
it
true
that
you
are
averse
to
making
films
with
big
stars?
It
is
not
true
that
I
shy
away
from
making
films
with
big
stars.
I
did
make
Junoon
and
Kalyug
both
with
Shashi
Kapoor.
I
cast
Karisma
Kapoor
in
Zubeida.
If
I
set
out
to
do
a
big
film,
it
requires
actors
and
it
is
risky
to
take
stars
because
they
are
like
magnets.
If
I
do
not
recover
the
money
that
the
producer
has
invested
in
my
film
in
which
I
have
cast
stars,
the
stars
would
be
wasted.
I
feel
that
if
I
cast
stars,
it
should
work
well
for
both
the
film
as
well
as
the
stars
who
I
have
cast.
As
a
filmmaker,
you
cannot
do
anything
that
takes
the
stars
away
from
their
stardom.
What
has
happened
to
your
ambitious
Indo
Srilanka
project
Gautam
Buddha?
It
has
been
put
on
the
backburner,
because
International
recession
has
taken
a
toll
on
the
project.
Does
your
approach
as
a
film
maker
change
with
every
film?
Yes.
My
approach
as
a
director
keeps
changing.
With
each
new
film
of
mine,
I
try
some
new
story
telling.
I
do
not
like
to
repeat
myself.
I
change
the
style
of
narration
with
every
film
of
mine.
It
is
crucial
that
I
should
like
a
film
when
I
set
out
to
make
it.
You
would
be
ignorant
if
you
do
not
know
the
lifestyle
of
the
Muslims
in
a
country
like
that
of
ours
and
hence
you
have
to
keep
your
mind
open
and
not
be
prejudiced
when
you
set
out
to
make
a
film
with
Muslims
characters
like
I
have
done
with
Well
Done
Abba.
It
is
a
fruitless
occupation
to
try
to
know
what
will
sell
and
what
will
not,
because
sensibilities
differ
in
the
audiences
the
world
over
and
it
is
difficult
to
pander
to
the
lowest
common
denominator.