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!"

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.

This movie is basically the Bollywood version of She's the Man with Channing Tatum and Amanda Bynes. Your counterparts in those roles are Shahid Kapoor and Rani Murkherji respectively.

The movie is pretty funny - the cheesy slapstick comedy that is trademarked Bollywood. I really enjoyed all the past movie references that occur throughout the film in both the dialogue and background movie choices, it really gave the impression that the movie wasn't a movie but actually a real life situation - which it is - but while never getting too serious. There were some sub plots that felt neglected and incomplete. But since this movie is almost 3 hours long you can get over that and just make your own endings for them. Overall a very enjoyable Bollywood style film.

I don't know anything about Bollywood movies or any of the finer points of Punjab dramas, etcetera. I'm just an average middle aged Caucasian American who likes cross cultural experiences. I watch movies from different cultures to get an idea of the hopes, dreams, values and morals which are reflected back via the movie. Having been to India a few times, I am getting more and more familiar with Hindu culture.

Admittedly, there is nothing new in the storyline here (think Shakespeare's Twelfth Night), but the actors are very attractive and actually quite talented dancers. Yes, the singing is dubbed, but I enjoyed the songs for the most part. Some of the movie is so stupid that I actually enjoy it as 'bad art'.

I am not going to be a regular consumer of Indian movies, but this is a fresh scrubbed, if cynical, offering. I like it. I really like watching this movie.