Dil Bole Hadippa, produced by Bollywood's film studio, Yash Raj Films, is an unimaginative and thoroughly boring comedy starring Rani Mukherjee as Veera, a pretty Punjabi kudi in Amritsar who is so nuts about cricket, she disguises herself as a man to join a local cricket team. Shahid Kapoor stars as Rohan, son of the team's owner, and a county cricket player in England, who agrees to come down and coach his dad's team so they have better chances of winning an annual match against the Pakistani side. Expect the predictable locker room hiccups, the obligatory romance between Rohan and Veera, the subsequent revelation that the ace batsman in their team is actually a woman, and eventually an alls-well-that-ends-well climax. Shamelessly ripped off from the 2006 Hollywood rom-com She's The Man, the plot of first-time director Anurag Singh's Dil Bole Hadippa is full of holes. Its formulaic screenplay is packed with clichés and stereotypes that you've seen dozens of times before in films produced by the same banner. The never-ending references to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, the patriotic clap-traps, and those overused Punjabi lines – very little is original here. The film's only bright spark is that feisty performance by Rani Mukherjee, especially in her sardar avatar. The actress lets herself go with an unhinged, uninhibited turn that showcases her fearlessness as a performer. It's a shame she's trapped in a meaningless, embarrassment of a film like this that does no justice to her talent. Dil Bole Hadippa is about its sets and costumes and choreography; the emotions are superficial, its soul hard to find. The film bears no directorial signature; it's really a homogenised Yash Raj product that borrows its moments from Chak De India and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi to name just two films. Cheesy starlets like Sherlyn Chopra and Rakhi Sawant are thrown into the mix for cheap laughs, and it even takes up the equal-opportunity issue between men and women in cricket, just in case you thought the film was becoming too trivial.It's a crushing bore of a film that's neither thrilling in its cricket scenes, nor entertaining in its humour. What's it going to take to expect some originality and inventiveness from one of the biggest players in Bollywood? To be honest, dil bole sudharjaa!

The day I saw the first promo of "Dil Bole Hadippa" few months back, my only words were "Oh God! not again". Because once more there was a movie based on Punjab and Cricket with a talented coach having tons of attitude, along with a girl trying to deceive in a very ill suited "Sikh Getup" which was not convincing at all from any angle in the frame. I even kept wondering why on earth this thought was used again by the same camp which earlier gave us a brilliant "Chakk De India" made on a similar format.And now after sitting through the whole movie today, I exactly feel the same again and was even more disappointed by the final product presented. The movie couldn't change my thoughts even slightly as it has nothing new to offer in any departments technically or creatively. From the first scene itself you are served silly sequences in the name of cricket where both the bowler and the batsman don't know anything other than just the ball crossing the boundary. The story is completely predictable from the promos itself where a girl poses as a boy to play in a match against the rival team (which is strangely an unofficial team from Lahore, Pakistan) and you are simply offered all repetitive scenes every minute in the movie without any specific entertainment or novelty.As an overall review, I would simply like to mention a few (silly) points here about the movie, which will give you a concrete idea of the project and it's below average content: 1. It starts with a sequence where Rani (who specializes in hitting sixes) is scoring 6 sixes in a row to a bowler who is supposed to be a well known Ranji player (Domestic First Class Cricket Championship in India) and he doesn't know how to try 6 different bowls in an over. Quite a silly start! 2. In the next scene, at one end, Rani is praying to play for India in 2011 World Cup whereas Anupam Kher and Dilip Tahil are still talking about 40 years of our Independence. A good two decade jump in two consecutive scenes.3. In the tense atmosphere prevailing between India & Pakistan from decades, the director shows two local teams playing unofficial cricket every six months in a stadium without any cricketing official or security agencies in sight. 4. These two old time friends come with their respective teams at Wagah Border (Original Location) where there is no security officials, no military men of either sides and no official cricket authority on the location from the State, Center or Local Government.5. There is an overuse of deliberate Punjabi language and Devotional Sikh "Mool Mantra" coming many times in the movie inspired by the best version of the Mantra earlier heard in "Rang De Basanti". The director uses it purposely to give the movie a more authentic feel but the move falls flat.6. Rani's real identity also gets revealed in a cliché scene where Shahid catches her changing clothes in a men washroom. Nothing new! 7. In a poorly conceived climax match, the Indian players are shown getting out childishly. It seems as if Shahid kept the coaching only for him and Rani alone and the rest were simply left out of the training camps.8. The director didn't do his research on the finer details of Cricket and its rules. In the last ball, Rani changes her stance from right to left hand. A player can only do so after seeking the permission of the on-field Umpires and also informing the rival captain, so that he can change the field settings. But here Rani just changes the stance ignoring all the rules of the game.9. There seems to be no problems of Visa and Passport for anyone featuring in the movie.(as if it was a match between India & Nepal) 10. In the climax, a very silly argument is given by Rani on the stage, saying that both girls and boys should be allowed to play Cricket together as a Mixed Team. Was this supposed to be innovative writing? Performance wise Rani makes a desperate attempt to strike back but sadly focuses on a wrong project. She tries hard and also impresses in her Man-Act, but the badly written and poorly directed movie lets her down. I also couldn't understand how she approved the awful get up, which was a complete disaster all the way. Shahid does nothing, other than showing his pricey attitude. After "Kaminey", he disappoints big time. There is no love chemistry between Rani and Shahid in their scenes together.Sherlyn Chopra simply flaunts her fab body. Surprisingly Rakhi Sawant gets more shouts than Rani in her opening scene and she really has the right dancing moves better than many lead artists in the industry. Anupam Kher, Dilip Tahil and Poonam Dhillon have played the parts allotted to them perfectly.Musically, the soundtrack has a huge Punjabi hangover. A few songs are catchy but they don't have the original Punjabi feel, vocals and arrangement. Cinematography is nothing extraordinary. Background Score is completely based on Dhol and Punjabi sounds but gets repetitive after the initial scenes.Collectively it's a light movie based on cricket with too many loopholes and faults in its direction. Anurag Singh chose an absolutely worn-out theme and also didn't work on the finer details of the sport. He carelessly tries to fool a "Cricketing Nation" where people eat, drink and live cricket. In fact, the movie reminded me one of the first (childish) movies made on Cricket titled "All-Rounder" and I think that says all about my views on "Dil Bole Hadippa".In few words, I wasn't expecting such a weak movie from the makers of "Chakk De India".

After watching Rani's steady bad films , but still sticking to being her fan. This movie was a very pleasant surprise. The movie has everything.. Romance, Woman respect and encouragement, Cricket passion, India and Desh Bhakti.. it is a total mas ala film and on top of the timing of comedy by both Shahid and Rani. It was a different movie which kept me entertained and I did not feel cheated.The songs are not memorable but are colorful and well choreographed by Vaibhavi Merchant. The theme of the movie is goos nad nowhere it gets boring. All in all a must watch... Rani is back...

I was surprised to how a typical tried out story actually entertained me and made me happy!. Great to see Rani back, her absence was felt and her return is ever so glamorous. Its great to see someone who can really dance match up with Shahid. Shahid is his usual serious self, and doesn't come through much in contact with the viewers, but his acting was tip top and enjoyable. The story was so colorful that i was laughing unexpectedly at times. The make up for Rani as a male was realistic, i actually know someone that looks like that. My only comment is the case of the disappearing and re-appearing eye shadow and make-up. As soon as she throws everything male off she checks in for seconds into invisible beauty salon and re-appears fully beautified :D. More or less very enjoyable and will own it on DVD, the music is lively and makes you want to dance the bhangra. And for you all women rights hater males who voted poor for the movie, let me tell you its not that she was a girl its that she played better than men (in the movie) so the image of weaker sex can't play with guys was abolished and nullified to the zennith.. thats why everyone with a sane mind clapped at the end.