Chak De Lagaan....She's the Man

When I first saw the promos of "Dil Bole Hadippa" I was almost sure that this was going to be a Yashraj tried-and-tested formula film, with a punjabi theme, a romantic element, and comedy. I was very keen to watch it nevertheless because I love Yashraj movies! I even loved 'Mohobbatein', 'Mujhse Dosti Karoge', and 'Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hain'....toh yeh kitni buri ho sakti hain. :D With this thought and the least expectations, I went to see this movie.

Now, coming to the title of this post, you might be thinking that I've totally lost it! Let me assure you that it's nothing like that....it's just a few of the movies that Hadippa reminded me of.

The story opens with Veera Kaur, a worldclass right tey left hand batsman! Our buffalo girl worships cricket like most other Indians. The difference is that she is an excellent player waiting for her talent to be tapped. However, such an opportunity never comes up in her small village in The Punjab until a star cricketer dude from"The English" shows up to help his father (Anupam Kher) build a cricket team to win the Aman cup against the team from Lahore. Circumstances force Veera to become Veer Pratap Singh in a desperate attempt to fulfill her dream. This reminds me of the movie called "She's the Man", the only difference being it was soccer there instead of cricket.

What follows is very predictable and yet absolutely enjoyable. Its fun to watch Veer/Veera juggle the double-role act. Rohan's (Shahid Kapur) tough coach act kept reminding me of Kabir Khan (SRK) from Chak De! India all the time. There is also a love story between Veera and Rohan (obviously...duh!). She brings out the desi boy in him and brings him closer to his roots. The "Ishq Hi Hain Rab" song is reminiscent of "aisa des hain mera" from Veer Zaara.

The climax is but obviously the Aman cup cricket match...no points for guessing that! It's a Lagaan-esque cricket final. It includes a few dramatic situations, a few revelations, and a few tears. Again, no points for guessing who wins and who scores the most! The presentations after the match include a "veer ka parda faash" scene and a bhashan about how girls don't get an equal opportunity when it comes to cricket...blah blah blah....

Acting-wise, Rani is more adorable as Veer than as Veera. I loved the cute little Sardar act of hers :D Shahid Kapur is good....somewhat a repetition of his Jab We Met act, though every time he runs, I remember him running in Kaminey with all those muscles flashing! :D The other supporting cast includes Anupam Kher, Dalip Tahil, Rakhi Sawant, Sherlyn Chopra, Vrajesh Hirjee, Poonam Dhillon, and Vallabh Vyas. All of them are well suited to their characters and support ably.

The music is pretty good, with a lot of bhangra beats, as aptly said in one of the songs..."discowale khisko ... desi beat bajani...". I personally liked the title track the best, but it was adorable to watch Rani romance Rakhi in the "bhangra bistar beer bater" song.

Overall, this movie is not the greatest or the best, but definitely at par with the rest. It is a good entertainer and definitely worth a dekko. Toh bhool fikraa...hain jigraa...toh sang mere bol hadippa...