Dil Bole Hadippa! charms despite formulaic elements

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      Starring Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor. Rated G.

      Dil Bole Hadippa! opened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, giving it the distinction of being the first truly masala Bollywood film to have its world premiere at a North American film festival. Not a bad choice, as this movie contains all the elements that make this genre enjoyable despite a cynic’s better judgment: it’s a simple, exuberant spectacle of colour, rhythm, and romance.


      Watch the trailer for Dil Bole Hadippa!

      Rani Mukherjee stars as the gender-bending cricketer Veera, who dresses as a boy named Veer to play the game she loves. Shahid Kapoor plays Rohan, a diasporic Indian man from London brought back to Punjab to save his estranged father’s team from its eight-year losing streak against Pakistan in the fictitious Aman Cup. A series of endearing, though formulaic, plot points follow in which the two leads fall in love and the team readies itself for the climactic match. Mukherjee is quite charming as both the adolescent male cricketer and the spunky young woman who refuses to believe that sexism might have the power to destroy her dreams.

      The film is unreservedly nationalistic, despite the premise of the cooperative sporting event, with a caricature of a nasty captain on the Pakistani team. Like many Bollywood films with supposed diasporic characters, it reifies the idea that all true desis must return to the homeland. The village setting is portrayed as idyllic, without any poverty, and a goodhearted, naive stereotype at each bullock cart.

      Despite all this, there’s something disarming about this film. Perhaps it’s the catchy bhangra-inspired music or the silliness of Mukherjee’s makeup, which magically appears whenever she removes her fake beard. Regardless, there’s a chemistry that works in this film, and one might as well credit it to the film’s vaguely feminist subtext.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Reyhan

      Sep 21, 2009 at 5:59pm

      Dil Bole Hadippa! Many anticipated this YashRaj film to be a MASALA movie that would help revive the career of Rani and also the banner. The same banner that once gave us hits such as DDLJ and Veer Zaara. With the promos released it immediately got compared to 'Chak De India' and after having watched the movie one would say that it was a weak adaptation that tries to follow a typical bollywood narrative. The music was received well and the promos looked very fresh trying to capture its target audience only it didn't. I applause the music which still gets played in the car on shuffle on the ipod. I when to watch this movie with high hopes for Rani, because I admire her acting although many may disagree. I believe that she is a talented actress only shes been selecting her work incorrectly she only needs a strong script and she would prove her critics and give the other actresses in the industry and run for there money. Singh has not help revive but help kill Rani, which is a shame. Mr Kapoors, over all acting despite at times being poor was good as long as you had wool pulled over your eyes. The references to DDLJ didn't do him any favors but make him look weak as one begins to mentally compare him to Mr Khan. Miss Sawant hyped herself up way to much and in turn was on screen for far less time then she made out to be. 'I play an integral part of the story' Im sorry what story. Its a good job Rani locked her away so she didn't come on stage only they should have done that at the beginning and left her there. She didn't play any part but was there to be looked at hence the close up shots of her breasts and legs equally Miss chopra flaunting her bits about added to Laura Mulveys theory of women are the subject of desire and are there to be looked at. Over all the film wont do well in india but Europe and the worldwide, with the help of the religious festival Eid it may turn out to make a small % .Yash Raj Studios please stop turing out trash and give us what were really hungry for movies like DDLJ and Veer Zaara.

      RAIMA

      Sep 24, 2009 at 11:31pm

      i think it was an awsome movie...both of them were very cute and did a superb job...