Dil Bole Hadippa!

Yashraj turns up with another sugar-coated melodrama but I watched it for only one reason. That is Rani Mukherjee. When I see her in films like this (and everything she's done in the last 7 years) I can't help but feel sorry for the actress who is incredibly talented and who wastes her gift in such pathetic movies. The basic concept is borrowed from the Amanda Bynes movie 'She's The Man' (which was another ridiculous film) and there was the extra addition of overdone patriotism, culture clash and gender equality and whatever that is done in a preachy, melodramatic and amateurish manner. A lot of the themes have been rushed while some weren't even necessary (like the Sherlyn Chopra track). The songs are downright forgettable even though I liked some of them mostly for Sunidhi Chauhan's energy. Mukherjee is excellent and for me she made the film watchable. She is very convincing as the girl-pretending-to-be-a-young-sardar and vivacious as the streetsmart village belle. The actress proves once again that she has a natural flair for comedy. Shahid Kapur is formulaic as is Anupam Kher. Rakhi Sawant is alright in what she's given. Sherlyn Chopra seems to have been promoted from B grade movies to, uh, more expensive films but her acting is horrendous and her dialogue delivery makes her sound like she's heavily stoned. I guess Amisha Patel wasn't available to play the bimbo this time. Overall, it's one of those films that you can watch with the family (if they like this kind of movie) and then just forget about it.

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

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.

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!

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.