Writer: Janak

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Watch this if you liked: “Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal”, “Victory”, “Chak De India”

If any actress can play a Punjabi dude and play cricket at the same time, it's definitely going to be Rani Mukerji (the lead actress who plays Veera Kaur and her alter ego, Veer Pratap Singh) in "Dil Bole Hadippa" (translation: "Heart Goes Hurrah").

This is the story of a girl who pretends to be a guy to join an all-male cricket team for the love of the game. In Punjab, the local Aman Cup is coveted by two rival teams, one Punjab team led by Vicky Singh (Anupam Kher) and the other, a Pakistani team lead by Lucky Ali Khan (Dalip Tahil). Unfortunately for Vicky, his team has been losing to Lucky's for the past eight years. He decides to recall his England captain son, Rohan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) back to India, who agrees to coach the local team for his father's sake. When Veera (Rani Mukerji) hears about the competition, she decides to join the team but is unfortunately sidelined as she is a girl. Predictably, Veera transforms and becomes Veer Singh, the unknown brother of Veera. Veer enjoys a run of play but is threatened by Rohan's suspicions.

Fresh from his recent big hit "Kaminey", Shahid Kapoor's role is overshadowed by Rani Mukerji character. Even though he has less presence than the heroine, Shahid still delivers a lovable and innocent turn gracefully. Rani Mukerji definitely deserves a round of applause for trying something different and also for leaving her usual melodrama and crying scenes behind.

An interesting fact that many might not know is that when Rani became a superstar after her first break in 1998's "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai", Shahid was just doing TV ads as young teenager and was nobody at that point of time. There was even once in a Pepsi ad way back 1998 (on Indian TV of course) when Shahid was a teen who introduces the drink to mega stars Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukerji. Now, looking at the pairing of Rani and Shahid, one wonders whether the casting was right in the first place? Anupam Kher returns under the Yash Raj banner after a gap of five years (last seen in "Veer Zaara") and does a decent job here, as his emotions are always a great watch. Dalip Tahil who plays fatherly roles in recent films, provides some laughter as well. Rakhi Sawant also gets the chance to be featured under Yash Raj Films for the very first time.

About the plot, perhaps director Anurag Singh should just stick to the Veera character the whole time. Veera and Veer together is quite messy. Also, the ending can be a little overlong and some viewers might not like how it ends but like all typical Hindi movies, it must end in a happy way. Audiences who have watched Disney's "Mulan" will surely remember this.

Cinematography-wise, the Yash Raj banner have always done Punjabi background in a simple and yet beautiful way. Punjabis folks will definitely have the feeling of going back to Punjab after watching great scenery. Full credit should be given to cinematographer Sudeep Chartterjee, who was responsible for "Chak De India" as well.

Last but not least, the songs of "Dil Bole Hadippa" will surely blow the audience away. With many Hindi songs having Punjabi grooves and remixes lately, music director Pritam does damage again. Remember the recent "Love Aaj Kal" songs and his previous big hit "Singh Is Kinng"? The same Punjabi Bhangra tunes are available here. Title track "Hadippa" and "Bhangra Bistar" will get audience dancing in their seats.

As a whole, the movie won't give you the kind of "Chak De India" climax but it will definitely get local Punjabi girls to think about their role as women. A must-watch for all Punjabi girls out there.

Cinema Online, 21 September 2009