Movie review: Dil Bole Hadippa

DIL BOLE HADIPPA (The Heart Shouts Hooray).

Directed by Anurag Singh, with Shahid Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee, Anupam Kher and Dalip Tahil.

At Nu Metro, Canal Walk.

Review: MEHBOOB BAWA

Cricket is akin to a religion in India and this film showcases a woman who is as zealous about the sport as her male counterparts.

While not in the league of Lagaan, an award-winning film with a cricket theme, Dil Bole Hadippa is flawed but entertaining.

The film is set in a small town in Punjab, where cricket-mad Veera dreams about playing for her country.

She is an expert hitter of the ball, but is turned away from the selection process as she is a woman. Dejected, she decides to adopt the disguise of a man and try out for the team. Veera's reason for wanting to play is one of national pride.

For many years India has lost to Pakistan in the Aman Cup which is staged by two former cricketing greats from the aforementioned countries. She wants to help her country win the next game.

The Indian coach engages his son Rohan, an excellent cricketer from England, to captain and train the Indian team. Despite their strained relationship, he agrees. When he meets Veera, not realising she is also the cricketer in his team, he gradually falls in love. How she manages to play both roles without being caught out makes for interesting viewing.

The film's premise is similar to the Hollywood production, She's The Man. The screenwriters Jaya and Aparajita develop a story that is very predictable and formulaic, but with some creative sequences that will leave audiences smiling.

However, their downfall lies in merely glossing over important details and not fully developing the supporting characters.

The reactions of the leads in pivotal scenes are also not believable given the context.

They do keep the pace fast and furious which helps to camouflage the script's weaknesses.

Debutant director Anurag Singh does well mostly. But he needs to keep a close eye on simple continuity errors which detract from the overall enjoyment of the film.

The ending, with the standard preaching Bollywood monologue, is too conventional and could have definitely been executed more creatively.

That said, there is lots to enjoy.