lollll ahh wells - we can't expect everyone to like it
I saw it on Sunday - here's my review
WARNING - it's pretty long, fan-girly, and squee-filled LOL
It may also be slightly biased because i watched it at TIFF and the presence of Rani was enough to make the atmosphere so charged that everything seemed so awesome and surreal hahah
Dil Bole Hadippa Review
GOSH, it's SUCH a relief to finally get down to writing this...honestly, and sadly, i have not thought about ANYTHING else except the movie for the past 11 hours since we finished watching it...it's like i NEED to talk to someone about the movie!
Ok - so a lot of you know that my faves happen to be Shahid-Rani! When i heard they were being paired together, i was over the moon and around a few more times! It was like some hidden dream come true! But at the same time, i was in two minds about it - i mean there is the age factor which was talked about for months...and the constant wondering of whether the "SHANI" pairing would work! On top of that, there was the fact that Rani's last few movies did not do as well as one would have hoped in the box office....and on top of THAT, YRF itself was slowly losing it's respectable reputation, although things have started looking up for them since New York.
So I guess i was looking forward to it but also having some doubts about it. After watching the first promo, i have to admit i was STUNNED at how good Shahid-Rani looked together....i mean i adore them, but i never IMAGINED that they could look so good together! I'd have to go as far as saying, for me at least, he makes one of the best jodis with her! The theatrical trailor was really very cute, but i don't think i was excited about the actual movie storyline as I was about seeing my two faves on screen together. However, i knew i had to catch the movie in theatres!! My luck, the Toronto International Film Festival selected Dil Bole Hadippa to have it's world premiere right here in Toronto and I guess i just took the chance and bought tickets to the screening! I mean how cool is it to be amongst the first in the world to watch a movie/jodi you've been dying to see hahah
Anyways I went in with quite low expectations for the movie in terms of storyline - i mean i expected entertainment but more of timepass movie. So how did the movie fare in my books?
Spoilers included from here on
Well, first let's get to the story! As YRF put it, Veera Kaur, hailing from a small village in India, works in a local theatre group but dreams of playing cricket for the big leagues. On the other side, there's Rohan, an accomplished captain of a cricket team in England. He has been living there with his mother ever since his father and mother parted ways. Rohan is called back to India to coach his father's cricket team which has been on a massive losing streak. It is then that Rohan calls for team selections and Veera rushes to grasp the opportunity. Unfortunately, because of the fact that she is a woman, she is told to leave the grounds without being given the chance to try out for the team. Veera returns back to her village, spirits crushed. It is there that she comes up with the idea of dressing up as a male to try out her luck at joining the team. Hence, Veera Kaur becomes Veer Pratap Singh! Veera's determination and love for the game and country win her a spot on India's team, led by Rohan. Hilarity ensues as Veera tries to keep up with cricket training and tries to keep her coach from finding out about her true identity. The last 20-30 minutes focus on the final cricket match and although it's kinda predictable what the outcome will be, it's actually very gripping! Throw in some great music, eye-capturing cinematography, SHANI, lots of cricket, a ton of fluff and you've got Dil Bole Hadippa!
Story-wise - it's nothing original, a story that's been done many many times. The basic storyline resembles She's the Man/Twelvth Night quite a bit but what makes it different is the indian touch! I'm not a big critic at ALL when it comes to movies hahah i'm just one to be entertained so i found the story simple and cute! However, it's not gonna surprise you or anything haha so you pretty much know the basic storyline and outcome
Performances
Rani - what can i say, this girl just makes me love her more day by day! She was ADORABLE in the movie! First of all, she looked STUNNING! Even as a man, i was admiring her haha. She played Veera Kaur to the tee, a hyperactive,cute,traditional girl trying to make something of herself and trying to fulfill her dreams. As Veer, she cracked me up TOO much! She was so much fun as Veer! Haha kudos to this girl, she really gave it her all for this movie! Acting like a boy isn't easy stuff, it's not the usual prancing around trees type of role, it was much more active haha and she carried it off so well! She'sss backk! Although she never really did go anywhere for me haha I'm so glad that she did this role! It's not award-worthy or anything, but it's just one that will stay with you - besides, it's not EVERYDAY we get to see a girl pretend to be a man! GOSH i missed this girl! It feels so good to have her back!
Shahid - HUNK!!!!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS, I seriously could NOT stop swooning! I'm not going to lie, when i saw some of the stills, i thought he looked a bit ill in a few, it's like it was in between his losing weight sessions....GOSH was i WRONG! he came on screen and I (along with the rest of the crowd) went NUTSS!! I heard "GOD HE'S SO HOT" being screamed from everywhere! Shoot...and here i thought he looked hot in Kaminey...he looks so amazing here too He was perfect as Rohan, i simply adored him! Living abroad, coming back to India, trying to adjust and finally understanding the true simplicity and beauty India holds when he tours around with Veera. He's shown this intensity in his most recent roles - you can feel it in one of his last scenes with Rani when he finds out the truth about her identity...it was SO intense....they were both so amazing! I have to mention this...the way Rohan would look at Veera seriously made me feel all fuzzy inside...i had butterflies...*faint* But there's no use comparing this to Kaminey, there's a difference in playing a role like Guddu/Charlie vs. playing a captain/chocolate boy type role like Rohan....
Rakhi - She wasn't in the movie for much - she was fun in Bhangra Bister! And in the end when she was cheering for Rani haha
Sherlyn - I cringing everytime she came on screen, i guess cause of her character haha - and the fact that she was walking around half naked alll throughout - haha anyways, whatever parts she had, she did fine in it
The side characters were all great too! I loved that one guy, Veera's friend haha
Songs
i LOVED the songs! The only one issue i had was that literally 2-3 minutes after Gym Shim, they played Discowale Kisko - but I'm thinking that was because Gym Shim was more of a background type of track, it showed the cricket training during the song. Bhangra Bistar was fun haha Rakhi and Rani were cute! Gym Shim was GREAT fun, hahah Rohan-Veer's scenes were hilarious! Discowale Kisko was my second fave of the lot! GOSHY the way Rohan kept looking at Veera and kinda flirted with her was KILLING me Shahid-Rani seriously made my heart flutter! Ishq Hi Hai Rabba was my ULTIMATE favourite! We have seen most of the scenes in the promos but it was just sooooo adorable - the chemistry between Shahid-Rani was really evident in this song, even though there were no "hot" scenes and stuff like that! The part where Rohan comes wearing the yellow kurta and Rani's jaw drops open...whole sequence had me all heart-eyed haha ! I can't remember how Hadippa was I think it was at the beginning of the movie! The Hadippa Remix was awesome hahah everyone in the hall was cheering during it!
ShaNi Jodi...did they work?
Well...i guess everyone's opinions will differ for sure...but i think for me, they not only worked, they KILLED it! I don't think i've sighed that much in a movie before....Shahid-Rani's expressions just matched so well! The way he would look at her while she was innocently dancing away...showing him around the village *faint* But more than that, the way they matched their expressions in the funny scenes and the intense scenes! Their first meeting was So good! Hahah it had me in splits - the annoyed expressions from both of them were just top class! And Rohan calling Veera "Buffalo Girl" was hilarious but adorable! I think one of the biggest highlights of the movie were the Rohan-Veera scenes and Rohan-Veer scenes! Keep an eye out for the scene where Rohan finds Veera in the shower in the guy's dressing room - GOSH it was HILARIOUS! And the Rohan-Veer conversation where Rohan asks Veer whether he can ask Veera out for a date HAHAHA it was cuteness defined! I honestly could go on - i loved all their scenes! OMG before i finish this section off, special mention to Rohan's way of saying sorry to Veera about the bathroom incident, there's a stage show where they enact a few classic indian movies....ADORABLE!!! GOSH I WAS SWOONING!! They looked SO good together in this part!
Favourite parts
Listing them would be useless because i think i enjoyed the WHOLE movie hahaha but these are a few scenes that can't be missed!
- Rohan-Veera's first meeting and riding on the truck! Their conversation was priceless! Buffalo Girl!
- Veera pretending to be Veer and fooling her friend - right after she gets selected for the team
- Veera as Veer trying to stay out of the boys changeroom during Gym Shim and a shirtless(OMG) Shahid pulls her in
- the cricket training sessions
- Rohan finding Veera in the boy's changeroom - oh gosh, i was DYING in this scene, it was HILARIOUS but i was also swooning at how good Shahid-Rani looked together!
- Rohan's way of apologizing to Veera on stage
- Discowale Kisko - Rohan's flirting haha
- Ishq Hi Hai Rab *sigh*
- Rohan asking Veer nervously what he thought about him and whether he could date his sister HAHAHA
- Rohan-Veera's date
- the final match
I'm sure i forgot some scenes..i need to see this again!
OVERALL...is it worth it?
This depends! I think it was just my cup of tea! I don't know how but after one viewing, i can safely say that this WILL be added to my DVD collection and my all-time favourite movies - not because it's a masterpiece, but because it's a light-hearted, simple, fun movie which does what it's meant to do, entertain! Maybe it was the atmosphere i watched it in which made me love it so much. There's a lot of great fun moments in the movie, the crowd was roaring almost continuously! I think what i liked about this was it wasn't overly dramatic - and there was a bit of everything - romance, laughter, sadness, hope! Hahah it's also quite fluffy in terms of romance, very very cute and sweet haha i thoroughly enjoyed those parts Haha so if you wanna just go out and have some fun, grab a few friends and catch DBH! One more thing i loved about this movie was it's sticking to indian culture - i know, we've modernized, moved ahead - but i miss the traditional movies with a strong Indian touch to it! Don't go in expecting some modern, hi-fi intense type of movie - it's a traditional, glossed YRF production, kinda like the old days haha the promos don't give much away, which is why i wasn't expecting much going in - was EXTREMELY surprised, thoroughly entertained and came out very very happy! Fun movie with a lotta heart!
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