Dil Bole Hadippa!

I have to admit i did not have a lot of expectations going for this film because it looked like it was going to be a tried and tested formula trying to be another chak de India or lagaan. However this film was VERY entertaining, great acting, great dance, great songs and the film was very energetic. If you like masala bhangra fun type movies go for this one-its very JOKEY amazing i just saw it today at Roy Thomson hall i was fortunate enough to be part of the first ever audience in the world to see it. All in all a very entertaining film which is a tribute to what bollywood is all about, some fabulous acting by rani and shahid who shine in their respective roles and a film that will want you to get out of your seat and say 'Dil bole hadippa!"

I was at the premiere of 'Dil Bole Hadippa!' at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film is a story about a girl going after her dreams to play in a big league men's cricket team. The film portrays a lot of Indian Punjabi culture and is very patriotic. Fabulous acting by Rani Mukherji playing double roles in the movie. Shahid Kapoor also delivered a brilliant role as the head coach of the cricket team. The film was well directed and produced. I personally did not like the music that much except for a couple of tracks. It is a relatively decent movie for family viewing. Overall, this was a well-made movie accompanied by a good story.

Shahid perhaps jumped at the opportunity to work under YRF without bothering to even ask for the script. His character surfaces quite fickle-minded. Shahid however gives his best shot to infuse life into the character.

For Rani its supposed to be come-back movie - why? When did she have a sabbatical on the first place? And didn't you know what the turn of events when Adi attempted comeback movie for Mrs. Nay-nay? Not being funny but her personality and height was not quite suited for the role of the Surd Veer Pratap Singh (somebody else with a strong personality and better height might have helped). Remember Padmini Kolhapure in Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai?

Rakhi Sawant can put in her resume that she worked in a YRF banner. Seriously, there wasn't an iota of contribution for her character. YRF perhaps incorporated as a marketing gimmick.

Sherlyn Chopra - again an unwanted character who forces a nasal in the name of sensuous voice. And she hasn't improved a bit since Red Swastik.

Anupam and Dilip Tahil were dependable. Cameo by Poonam was okay'ish.

Whilst in "Chak De" the focus on the game was like fish-eye and there was no tom-foolery around there. Whereas in "Dil Bole Hadippa" there are too many plots::

* Father-son relationship

* Anupam - Poonam failed marriage

* Rani's passion for the game

* Shahid - Rani's romantic track

* India - Pakistan milaap

Amongst all these somewhere the game of cricket seems desperately hunting for its identity. The last 30-minutes of the writing is perhaps the worst it could possibly get.

Sick is perhaps the nearest word that comes to mind looking at the movies churned out by YRF factory. Does anybody even bother to look at the statistics in there - hello? I wouldn't be surprised would beg their lucky mascot to salvage the Titanic. Its quite apt to quote Scar's words from The Lion King " I'm surrounded by idiots!".

PS: Siddhart Anand in his "Bachna Ae Haseeno" paid homage to the self- obsessed producers "one & only and never again will be" movie and guess what? He was instantly rewarded with another movie. Well Mr. Anurag Singh no harm in counting the chickens before the eggs hatch. Adi - grow up boy!

DBH is not a bad movie, per say, it just isn't a very good one. A typical Yashraj film which evokes memories of DDLJ, Mohabattein, K3G etc, which is not necessarily a good thing. In an age where one should be striving to be original and innovative this movie sinks into the depths of yesteryear and tries to emulate the success of past Yashraj films in the hopes of scoring another victory. It's clear that someone was still hung up on the past and my guess is that it's the film studio rather than the director. The musical beats, the "heroic" and super main lead, the independent and lovable lead actress, the styles and moods...this could just be called DDLJ part 2.

The two biggest flaws which undoubtedly leads to the undoing of the movie is the second half of the movie and Shaid Kapoor.

The second half became overly melodramatic, the ending was clichéd, contrived and silly. The cricket game itself becomes a sham with the supposed twist and turn as the Indian team go from invincible to amateur in the blink of any eye, and all because the skipper decides to sulk at the "betrayal" Shaid Kapoor, the other weak link, takes himself WAY too seriously in this movie. Someone forgot to tell him that this is meant to be a light hearted fantastical comedy i.e. in other words a typical masala movie. I mean you've got Rani running around dressed as a young Punjabi boy, grinning inanely and playing cricket and there's Shahid emoting away as if his life depended on it, going all husky and dopey eyed whenever possible. I don't know if he watched every single Shah rukh khan movie before taking on this role but he clearly tried to his best imitation of an over the top SRK, which failed. What also failed was the parody of other big hits, a scene that should have been funny but fell quite flat.

The start of the movie was good- it was light, it was a bit funny and the intro song "Hadippa" was catchy and set the mood. Rani was great as Veer, slightly annoying as Veera but the contrast was decent and it was interesting to see her switch between the two roles. And then came Shahid, the anchor that weighed everything down.

Had this movie remained on a light hearted track it would have worked and been worth watching again. Also if the cricket match could have involved the rest of the team collectively it would have made for a better ending rather than the two main characters slogging it out.

This movie was supposed to be about cricket but after Shahid enters it virtually disappears and is just used for the climax of the movie and even then it was poorly executed. Despite the ease of the way Shaid and Rani hit fours and sixes having watched the recent IPL T20 games it does not work that way.

Sure, there was a message about women's rights and equality in the world. If they're every bit as equal on the sports field then they should play for the men's team. But that was a message that needed to be handled with a better, and preferably strong and original, director and a more serious setting. Instead the message was: if you can copy the past which deviate from the path? A real pity, for this movie could have been very good. It's worth watching for Rani, who looks really lovely, and for the soundtrack which is nice to listen to. For a better cricket movie watch Victory, which is by default the best cricket movie, which is not saying much as it has its own faults.

I was surprised to find positive reviews of Dil Bole Hadippa here as I always refer to IMDb for unbiased reviews. So now that people liked DBH, I realize that if I didn't like this movie and rather found it pathetic, probably something wrong with me but still posting my own reasons. To me, it was extremely melodramatic, loud and shallow stuff for this age. I cannot tolerate the century old "Wrong English" comedy any more. It is too much clichéd. Their cricket was one of the most irritating parts of the movie. I mean in cricket, it doesn't have to be a six, a four or a clean bold on every ball. And please YRF enough of conning your audience with the same Punjab di Lassi or Sarson ke Khet.And how all the bindaas girls end up changing Shahid's thoughts and perceptions of life like Geet of Jab We Met and Veera of DBH was also not digestible. The worst part was DDLJ and HAHK drama. I walked away for a few minutes. Nothing was new the same old modern girl vs Gaun ki gori and bindaas vs polished, desh vs pardes. Not a single dialogue made me laugh or even smile for a moment. Rani is a very talented actress. She should choose intelligent multiplex movies. My Vote: 1 Comment: Awful