The only good that’ll possibly come out of this boring flick Dil Bole Hadippa is that the old hag Rani Mukerji will hopefully be put to pasture.
Exterminated, as in get rid of the pest.
Long overdue, we must say.
The woman has overstayed her welcome in Bollywood.
Demonstrating her utter contempt for the paying audience, Rani has delivered one crappy movie after another the last few years: Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Ta Ra Rum Pum and now this boring crap-show Dil Bole Hadippa.
Dil Bole Hadippa is from the stable of Yash Raj Films, which has in recent years established an unassailable reputation for churning out unwatchable trash (remember Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Ta Ra Rum Pum et al).
Add Dil Bole Hadippa to Yash Raj’s growing mountain of trash.
Featuring Shahid Kapoor, Rani Mukerji, Anupam Kher and titillantes like Rakhi Sawant and Sherlyn Chopra, Dil Bole Hadippa is the story of a cricket-crazy Punjabi girl Veera (Rani Mukerji), who dons a male player’s disguise to play on the men’s team.
Add to this boring fig-leaf of a story, a young NRI cricket player from UK Rohan (Shahid Kapoor) and Indo-Pak rivalry in cricket. And of course the usual romance element without which no Bollywood movie is complete.
We are tired of this Punjab fixation that Yash Raj and some of his peers have developed, presumably to strike a chord in the hearts of the Punjabi diaspora in the U.S., Canada, UK and elsewhere.
The same old fields, same old Bhangra and same old colorful inane song-dance routines, same old, same old.
Saving Grace – Shahid
Shahid Kapoor slips into the role of son, cricket coach, and lover effortlessly.
He was the only saving grace of this boring shit.
But the same can’t be said of Rani Mukerji.
While she’s tolerable in some scenes, she’s awful in others. Like for instance when Shahid’s character declares his love for her or in the speech she gives toward the end. No drama in both the crucial scenes.
As for her screentime as the cricket player and her antics on and off the field, we found them mostly mediocre and irritating.
For the life us, we can’t fathom why Rakhi Sawant and Sherlyn Chopra had to be included in the movie other than to bare their assets and flaunt them to the public. Sure, the girls have to live but we’re not interested in ogling at ’em babies.
Music, like the rest of this boring film, is eminently forgettable.
We couldn’t remember a single song by the time we reached the parking lot of Multiplex Cinemas at East Windsor in NJ.
To spend any more time on Dil Bole Hadippa is to waste your time, our time and precious bandwidth.
Like Rani’s other movies of late, this one too deserves nothing but your indignant middle finger.
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SI says:
We are tired of this Punjab fixation that Yash Raj and some of his peers have developed, presumably to strike a chord in the hearts of the Punjabi diaspora in the U.S., Canada, UK and elsewhere.
This has gone on for far too long.
This trend of catering to NRIs probably started sometime b/w 1990-95, and continues unabated, despite the fact that the formula doesnt work.
Also, these movies depict the Punjabi people in a manner that is far from truth.
High time the audience rejects such fare.
Also, Yash Chopra himself is not directing movies for some time now.
Have you seen Waqt (1965), directed by Yash Chopra ?
A lost-and-found story, Waqt has nice lines, nice songs and fine performances. A bit long, but the movie is a MUST watch (IMHO).
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: This trend of catering to NRIs probably started sometime b/w 1990-95, and continues unabated, despite the fact that the formula doesnt work.
It may actually be working. Last night (i.e Friday night our time), we first went to Regal Hadley in South Plainfield around 9:30PM ET hoping that we’d easily get ticket for Dil Bole Hadippa since Wanted was also running there…to our shock when we reached the counter, Sold Out was the ticket assistant’s response.
We rushed to Multiplex Cinemas in East Windsor, about 30 miles away for the 10:05PM show. We got tickets at East Windsor and as we entered couldn’t help noticing a fairly large-size crowd in the hall.
As an ethnic group, Indians are different here. Because of their color, background et al, they haven’t integrated into the mainstream and we doubt they ever will. Not for this group, Hollywood or the artsy French movies.
They want only Bollywood movies. The group is large, still mostly North Indian and our hypothesis is that the diaspora is more loyal to Bollywood than Indians in India.
Will try to develop this hypothesis further to understand this NRI fixation of Indian movie-makers and also the increasing use of English in Hindi movies. Starting from DDLJ (1995) (or maybe even earlier) to Dil Bole Hadippa (2009), the NRI-Punjabi trend seems clear.
So, maybe after all Yash Raj and his peers know what they are doing. That does not mean Bollywood movies don’t flop here but bottom line we think the sizable NRI audience in North America is more loyal to Bollywood and the industry is returning the favor by catering to them with NRI-flavor movies rather than the larger local audience back home.
2. Will watch the old Waqt, Have heard of our relatives talking about it.
The film is said to be inspired from a hollywood film she’ll be the man
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yes, we’ve also seen references to the Hollywood film you mention above.
While we’re not speaking of Dil Bole Hadippa here, Indian film-makers in general steal with a shameless impunity only they possess.
So many stolen movies: Ghajini, Partner, Heyy Babyy, Thenali, The Killer, Ek Ajnabee, Bichhoo…the list is endless.
i belive u have wasted some amount of money in 2 days by watching three crappy films ??
SearchIndia.com Responds:
True, mucho $$$ flushed down the toilet.
On the positive side, we discovered a great Indian restaurant Palace of Jaipur in South Plainfield, NJ.
Amazing food, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian.
Our NJ readers may be familiar with this restaurant.
Mayawati’s statues are more entertaining than ‘Hadippa’
Guys, This movie is a big let down! Very predictable, and other than flashes of believable acting by Rani here and there, most actors fail to deliver. The big difference between a fantastic movie and an ordinary movie is that a fantastic movie hijacks your mind, and holds you in such a thrall, that you forget you are in a theater looking at images on a screen….we are transported into that magical world of vivid imagery that the director has crafted with great wizardry. And when the movie ends, it tugs at our heartstrings, as we swiftly return to the real world and realize that we have to head home.
Though ‘Hadippa’ ravages our mind with a mixed dose of bright colors, loud music, and feisty dancing, it fails to transport us to a different world….you grow increasingly aware that you are sitting in this theater patiently waiting for the movie to take off…but like passengers on a delayed flight sitting on the tarmac we sit fidgeting on our seats, hoping to get airborne, and be amidst the clouds, bedazzled by the lovely experience those promos and trailers had promised…but we are kept waiting. Minutes become hours, but hope doesnt translate to reality…even Rani’s burst of intense and passionate dialogue delivery towards the very end fails to take us to the promised dreamland. And with the rest of a disappointed crowd, we shuffle out of the theater, silently avoiding glances of fellow movie goers heading back home…
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: Mayawati’s statues are more entertaining than ‘Hadippa’
The above line gets the ‘comment of the quarter’ award. 🙂
2. You write: This movie is a big let down! Very predictable, and other than flashes of believable acting by Rani here and there, most actors fail to deliver. The big difference between a fantastic movie and an ordinary movie is that a fantastic movie hijacks your mind, and holds you in such a thrall, that you forget you are in a theater looking at images on a screen….we are transported into that magical world of vivid imagery that the director has crafted with great wizardry. And when the movie ends, it tugs at our heartstrings, as we swiftly return to the real world and realize that we have to head home.
Bravo.
Well written.
Can some 1 answer my Queries?
1) How come a state like Punjab, which has a rich sporting culture, and from where most of the female athletes, hockey players in India hail from, does not even have a women’s cricket team?
2) I have visited Amritsar, and even been up to the Wagah border, but have not seen folks breaking into a Bhangra for every thing, i have Punjabi friends myself, and i rarely see them start every sentence with an Oye, and as far as i know that Sarson stuff does not grow all year around, so which Punjab is being shown here?
3) Why is it that on a game-cricket, which is also a kind of religion and obsession, Bollywood has made only 2 good movies-Lagaan and Iqbal, this when Hollywood has got more than a handful of excellent movies on baseball and American football?
4) Why are NRI females always shown in movies either as slutty bitches or arrogant, snooty females who have to be tamed?
5) Why is Rani Mukherjee committing professional hara kiri with these kinda movies?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Great questions.
For Rani Mukerji, we think the game is over. Time to retire, find a mate and start making mini-Ranis/Rajas.
2. The Aditya Chopra/Yash Raj/Karan Johar version of India/NRIs is so far from reality that one wonders what world these folks live in.
If you are seeking for an entertaining sports flick with a message for Gender equality go for Chak De India or Bend it Like Beckham over this “Yeh Dil Bole No More Appa”.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We loved Bend it Like Beckham (pre-SI blog review).
I think Dil bole Hadippa is a modified but worthless copy of the Amanda Bynes Starrer ‘She’s the Man’. I liked the latter…timepass movie.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Other SI readers too have mentioned the Hollywood flick but we haven’t seen it.
RT gives She’s the Man 44% rating and mentions BO collection of $33.69 million.
thanks for mentioning a new restaurant..will checkout this Palace of Jaipur…I am tired of visiting all the other ones…I went to Swagath after seeing your review and I loved the food
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Palace of Jaipur is at the intersection of Hamilton Blvd and So. Clinton Ave, on the right (i.e. if you are coming from the Home Depot side). We’ll try to put up a full review later today.
Swagath is a decent South Indian vegetarian restaurant in the Edison/Oak Tree Rd area. We’ve been there multiple times.
exoticbronze is giving F. Scott Fitzgerald a run for his money!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We haven’t read anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald although we’ve heard a lot about The Great Gatsby and plan to read it one of these days.
BTW this must be the umpteenth Hollywood flick that Yash Raj has butchered in recent times.
Mohabbatein- Dead Poet’s Society.
Mujhse Dosti Karoge- The truth about Cats and Dogs.
Dhoom- The fast and the Furious.
Salaam Namaste-9 Months.
Mera Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai-My Best Friend’s Wedding
Fanaa- Eye of the Needle( heroine falling for a terrorist, is taken from the heroine falling for a Nazi spy in the original).
Hum Tum- When Harry Met Sally
Thoda Pyaar, Thoda Magic-Mary Poppins
Tara Rum Pum- Life is Beautiful and half a dozen racing flicks.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We’ve seen all of the above except Mera Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai.
The only one we enjoyed was Fanaa (pre-SI blog review).
The worst was Zyada Garbage, Zero Magic oops Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic
“So, maybe after all Yash Raj and his peers know what they are doing. That does not mean Bollywood movies don’t flop here but bottom line we think the sizable NRI audience in North America is more loyal to Bollywood and the industry is returning the favor by catering to them with NRI-flavor movies rather than the larger local audience back home.”
Actually Yash Raj is catering to this segment, that’s why all their movies are set abroad, and that too in the desi dominated areas. I believe that this segment also happens to be very conservative, living in a time warp, and YRF panders to their “Ideal Indian Sanskriti” dream, problem is that the mores shown in those movies are not followed even in India nowadays.
One explanation i think is most of these people migrated to US,UK, Aus in the 70’s and 80’s, and so they live in some kind of nostalgia world, imagining India to be still as it was during that time, but they really are not aware of the changes taking place socially and economically currently in India.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: One explanation i think is most of these people migrated to US,UK, Aus in the 70’s and 80’s, and so they live in some kind of nostalgia world, imagining India
Based on our interaction (albeit limited) with some of these desi immigrants from the 60s, 70s and 80s, we’d say they are usually staunchly pro-India (irrespective of the issue or circumstance), tend to support BJP, think the local culture here is sinful and generally live in ra ra land.
2. It’s hard for us to imagine how these NRIsh movies can resonate with the majority of Indians back home, who although Indian and speak the same language live in a completely different ambience. Only if the star is bigger than the movie (say for instance, SRK) can such films hope to do well in India.
Making films is first and foremost a business decision not an artistic move.
So how can a film like Dostana (from Yash Raj protege Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions) with its alien settings (Miami), two friends (a rich photographer and Nurse) living in a swank high-rise apt, with their accents, dudes, gay theme, fashion mag editor hope to strike a chord with the local audience back home. Given the absence of reliable box office data in India, it’s difficult to even know if such films are hits or flops.
did you break your streak at 3? are they no more Indian movies for you to devour this weekend? Did your jothidar ever tell you that you have Bollywood Masti Lagn
ia?SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: did you break your streak at 3?
Yes, just three.
But we added two Indian restaurants (Palace of Jaipur and Sukhadia) to the Masti Lagn
ia. 😉“So how can a film like Dostana (from Yash Raj protege Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions) with its alien settings (Miami), two friends (a rich photographer and Nurse) living in a swank high-rise apt, with their accents, dudes, gay theme, fashion mag editor hope to strike a chord with the local audience back home. Given the absence of reliable box office data in India, it’s difficult to even know if such films are hits or flops”
Well movies like Dostana, Salaam Namaste, Hum Tum primarily work with the Metro-Multiplex audiences( Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad,Kolkata. They don’t work in the small town, mofussil parts of North India, in fact thats the reason cited in recent times, for the revival of the Bhojpuri movies. People living in places like Ranchi, Raipur, Meerut don’t really identify with the Yash Raj-Dharma brand of movies, and for them the Bhojpuri brand or even those Mithun Da “cult classics” are what they love.
But then folks like Yash Raj, Dharma, Subash Ghai, don’t really care about those audiences, they get their money from the multiplexes, and the NRI crowd.
In fact when Subash Ghai was quizzed some time back about Yaadein( a turd movie) flopping in India, but doing well abroad, he said “who cares about rupees, i only care about dollars and pounds”.
These guys keep mouthing about Bharatiya sanskriti and sabhyata and all that assorted BS, but set all their movies only in abroad. Not very different from the NRI’s who quite often bad mouth India, but would go into a fit, if they see their kid dating any Non Indian.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. One more movie set in the U.S. My Name is Khan is due next year.
The publicity has already started for this one.
2. You write: folks like Yash Raj, Dharma, Subash Ghai, … get their money from the multiplexes, and the NRI crowd.
Offtopic: We met Subhash Ghai once, some 14 years back in L.A. before he made Pardes. He seemed quite casual, with none of the airs of a then-successful Bollywood film-maker.
Can’t remember meeting any other Bollywood director.
Ratnakar, you mentioned that you have punjabi friends and you have been to Amritsar and wagah border and haven’t seen punjabis break down into bhangra and say oye at the beginning of every sentence, well you haven’t seen much yet.
I am not being rude and I am just trying to say that I have witnessed it. I didn’t like the movie dil bole hadippa but I do love punjabi culture. In fact here in Pittsburgh, there were 70% non north people as pretty much I heard only Tamil, telgu and malyalam speaking people. I haven’t seen Wanted as I already saw in Tamil and didn’t expect anything new as I believe it’s just a remake.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Ratnakar, you mentioned that you have punjabi friends and you have been to Amritsar and wagah border and haven’t seen punjabis break down into bhangra and say oye at the beginning of every sentence, well you haven’t seen much yet. I am not being rude and I am just trying to say that I have witnessed it.
Oye, Ratnakar shows how little you know.
Oye, Punjabis do break into bhangra and say oye at the beginning of every sentence.
Oye, wondering if Bhagat Singh said Oye on the gallows?
Oye, Jyoti have you watched/heard the famous Oye Oye song from Tridev featuring Naseeruddin Shah (yes, he of A Wednesday fame) and Sonam (??). Nice one. We just purchased it for 99-cents on iTunes.
Oye, Ratnakar defend your honor in Judge Jyoti’s court.
Oye, bye Jyoti.
Jyoti, I have spent a good 2 years in Delhi, one of the most Punjabi cities ever.
My landlord was a Sardar, and i rarely saw him using that Oye word. BTW he himself was from Amritsar. Most of the people in our apartment complex were Punjus, and again while Oye was used often, it was not that every sentence began with it. And its not just me, i have Punjabi & Sardar friends, who hate the stereotypical way the Punjabi culture is shown in Yash Raj/Johar flicks.
And yeah there a list of movies with a Punjabi background, that are my favorites, Maachis, Pinjar, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Tamas (TV film actually). And i grew up on Buniyaad, a serial that is as Punjabi as it gets, without resorting to cliches.
There is more to Punjabi culture than the “Oyes”, “Makhnas”,”Soniyes” that Bollywood keeps on thrusting down.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Tu Soniye, again from the Karan Johar stable.
Ratnakar you are right. I didn’t explain my reply earlier well so that is why this misunderstanding came up. Khosla ka ghosla is one of my favorite movies as well.
Hei a bit off topic, have you guys guys heard of the movie Kanchipuram? Latest from Prakash Raj and director Priyadarshan. He won the National Award for that role. Plot sounds interesting
Also I caught Final Destination 4 over the weekend, my god!!! Bad script and bad acting!!!! Only watch if you are into gore
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Would love to watch Kanchipuram.
It had still not made it to Netflix last we checked.
2. Final Destination has a mere 27% rating on RT.
omg…soo agree with this review!
WHY! WHY is rani mukherjii hell bent on ruining her career by working with yash raj and ONLY yash raj films! can’t she see that all if them are pure junk these days? cant she see how many flops they have delivered? cant she see it is no good for her career?
Her only non-yash raj film in the last few years was Saawariya – the ONLY film in which she gave a memorable performance.
I mean, it looks like shes trying too hard to fit in with the younger actresses by donning skimpy clothes. But honestly, she jus cums across as a wannabe now with no individuality or fire which she possessed earlier Like in the movies Veer zaara, hum tum, black, saathiya….
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write: WHY is rani mukherjii hell bent on ruining her career by working with yash raj and ONLY yash raj films!….cant she see it is no good for her career?
Too late.
Given her flop, flop, flop trackrecord lately, Rani Mukerji in Bollywood is history.
Time to find a Raja and start breeding mini Ranis/Rajas.
2. As for Yash Raj, we’ve been saying for over a year now that the old man should abandon the movie business and set up shop in some basti as a Jalebi seller.
Laaga Chunari Mein Daag was definitely not a bad movie – it had decent performances and had a better-than-average story line
SearchIndia.com Responds:
We disagree.
Here’s our review of Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. We didn’t provide a link to it earlier.
The reason why Rani Mukherjee keeps accepting only Yash Raj films is that she doesnt get offers from anywhere else.
She looked like Shahid’s mom in this flick, and her hyper acting was very much reminiscent of Kareena’s performance in Jab We Met. Where Kareena was delightful in that one, Rani got on to my nerves, and had me flinching at every other scene. Shahid, on the other hand… Sigh! 😉
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Rani got on to my nerves
And the nerves of a billion others.
i haven’t seen this movie..but a one line review from my cousin in tamil: “dil bole hadippa = thaanga mudiyala kadippa!” (on twitter)
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: a one line review from my cousin in tamil: “dil bole hadippa = thaanga mudiyala kadippa!”
Your cousin has a good career ahead in copywriting. 😉