‘Dil Bole Hadippa’ scores - Movie Review

Published: September 18, 2009

By JENNIFER HOPFINGER

Starring Rani Mukerji, Shahid Kapoor

Rani Mukerji knocks one out of the park with her portrayal of a Punjabi village girl who dresses as man in order to play big-league cricket. The adorable, 5-foot-2-inch-tall actress is hilarious in drag—and surprisingly convincing as a man—hamming it up as a cocky batsman who’s got the goods to back up her trash-talking but can’t get on the team any other way. She desperately wants to join a local Indian team that plays a Pakistani team every year to commemorate the independence of both countries. The annual match is hosted by two old friends—one Indian, one Pakistani—who were tragically separated by Partition. It’s a friendly competition to promote peace and brotherhood, but a competition nonetheless, and the Indian team never wins. So the frustrated Indian coach persuades his estranged son Rohan (played by Shahid Kapoor), an Indian cricket star in the U.K., to return to India after a 10-year absence and become the team’s captain.

Veera brims with pride and passion and she chastises men for trying to burst her bubble. When she shows up to try out for the team as herself, a guard won’t let her into the stadium. As soon as he turns her away, a religious procession passes by, carrying a figure of a goddess, and the guard and all the men in the long try-out line bow humbly. Veera snaps at them: “When she’s an idol, you worship her. When she’s human, you crush her.” So she dons a turban and a beard and calls herself “Veer,” the male equivalent of her name, and earns a spot on the team. She works for a small theater group, which makes her an expert at disguises and quick costume changes, and no one, including Rohan, questions Veer’s gender.

Off the field, she returns to being the lovely, folksy Veera, and she beguiles Rohan, who reconnects with his lost heritage through her, and he comes to love her as much for her sharp tongue and unapologetic willfulness as for her traditional Indian ways. Her deception jeopardizes the budding romance, but what’s a spunky girl to do when she’s got one shot at her dreams?

Kapoor is a gifted actor, but the role of Rohan gives him little opportunity to use his talent. In fact, he overplays the unhappy hard-ass. His character’s function is merely to look good—and Kapoor more than delivers on that count—and to appreciate how special Veera is. The movie belongs entirely to Mukerji, and without her unbridled exuberance, the film would be just another run-of-the-mill sports movie. But the petite whirlwind is having such a good time playing the stubborn and daring Veera in a world of dizzying Punjabi color that she practically leaps off the screen. Feminism has never been so much fun.

Dil Bole Hadippa is rated Must See.

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