''Dil Bole Hadippa!'' (transl. ''The heart says hurray!'') is a 2009 Indian
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
-language
sports
Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
comedy film
The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Anurag Singh Anurag Singh may refer to:
*Anurag Singh (cricketer, born 1975), Indian-born cricketer who played in English county cricket during the 1990s and 2000s
*Anurag Singh (cricketer, born 1990), Indian cricketer for Madhya Pradesh
*Anurag Singh (director ...
and produced by
Aditya Chopra
Aditya Chopra (born 21 May 1971) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and studio executive who works in Hindi cinema. He is the Chairman of India's multi-national film, media, and entertainment conglomerate Yash Raj Films (YRF). under the
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. Since 2012, it has been led by his son Aditya Chopra. The company mainly produces and distributes Hindi films.
History
In 19 ...
banner. The film stars
Rani Mukerji and
Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of List of awards and n ...
in lead roles, with supporting performances from
Anupam Kher,
Dalip Tahil,
Rakhi Sawant, and
Sherlyn Chopra.
The narrative follows a young woman who disguises herself as a man in order to join an all-male cricket team, challenging gender norms in a traditional setting.
The film is an adaptation of
Andy Fickman
Andrew John Fickman (born December 25, 1970) is an American film director, filmmaker. His credits as a theater director include the premiere of the Reefer Madness (musical), ''Reefer Madness!'' musical, the first Los Angeles, California, Los Ang ...
's 2006 American film
''She's the Man'', which in turn was based on
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
’s play
''Twelfth Night''.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
took place across various locations in India.
Released theatrically on 18 September 2009, ''Dil Bole Hadippa!'' received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Mukerji's performance and the film’s core memessage while critiquing its predictable screenplay. The film had a moderate run at the box office, grossing approximately ₹310 million (US$6.4 million) worldwide.
In conjunction with the release, ASTPL, an Indian software developer, launched a
mobile video game based on the film’s cricket theme.
Plot
Veera Kaur, a spirited young woman from a small village, dreams of playing
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
at the national level. Despite her talent, she faces gender-based barriers and is denied entry to the men's team trials. Undeterred, she
disguises herself as a man named "Veer" and successfully earns a place on the team.
Meanwhile, Rohan Singh, the captain of a
county cricket team in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, returns to India at the request of his father, Vicky, who is desperate for India to win against
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
in the annual Aman Cup—a tournament in which India has lost for eight consecutive years. Rohan agrees to lead the team and begins training the selected players, including Veer.
As the tournament progresses, Rohan becomes romantically interested in Veera, unaware of her
dual identity. Complications arise when he begins to suspect the truth. During the final match in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
, Veera’s identity is revealed after an injury exposes her disguise. Initially accused of cheating, she delivers a passionate speech on
gender equality
Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...
and the limitations placed on women in sports. Her performance and words earn her the respect of the crowd and her teammates.
With Veera’s help, the team secures victory. The film ends with her reunion with Rohan and widespread acknowledgment of her talent.
Cast
*
Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of List of awards and n ...
as Rohan Singh, Vicky's son
*
Rani Mukerji as Veera Kaur / Veer Pratap Singh
*
Anupam Kher as Chaudhary Vikramjeet Singh (Vicky), Rohan's father
*
Dalip Tahil as Liyaqat Ali Khan (Lucky)
*
Rakhi Sawant as Shanno Amritsari
*
Sherlyn Chopra as Soniya Saluja
*Vimarsh Roshan
*
Vallabh Vyas as Home Minister Parimal Chaturvedi
*
Vrajesh Hirjee
Vrajesh Hirjee (born 16 June 1971) is an Indian film and television actor and comedian. He is also a script writer, dubbing artist and doing commentary in vivo pro kabbadi league season 9. He has acted Hindi language films like ''Rehna Hai Tere ...
as Chamkila
*
Poonam Dhillon as Yamini Singh (Vikram's wife)
*
Shonali Nagrani as herself
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
for ''Dil Bole Hadippa!'' began on 17 July 2008.
Shahid Kapoor
Shahid Kapoor (; born 25 February 1981) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Initially recognised for portraying romantic roles, he has since taken on parts in action films and thrillers, and is the recipient of List of awards and n ...
’s scenes were filmed in early 2009, as he was committed to shooting ''
Kaminey
''Kaminey'' () is a 2009 Indian Hindi-language action film written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and produced by Ronnie Screwvala under UTV Motion Pictures, featuring Shahid Kapoor in a dual role, alongside Priyanka Chopra and Amole Gupte in ...
'' from June to December 2008.
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi cinema, Hindi films, in addition to Telugu cinema, Telugu, Malayalam cinema, Malayalam, Marathi cinema, Marathi and Tamil cinema ...
was initially approached for a
cameo appearance
A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...
in the film but ultimately did not participate in the project. The film’s title underwent a change during development;
Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Sanjay Leela Bhansali (born 24 February 1963) is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, editor and music composer, who works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several awards, including seven National Film Awards and twelve Filmf ...
had previously acquired the rights to the title ''Hadippa'', and when
Yash Raj Films
Yash Raj Films (YRF) is an Indian film production and distribution company founded by filmmaker Yash Chopra in 1970. Since 2012, it has been led by his son Aditya Chopra. The company mainly produces and distributes Hindi films.
History
In 19 ...
requested to use it, Bhansali declined. The film was subsequently titled ''Dil Bole Hadippa!''.
Reception
Box office
''Dil Bole Hadippa!'' collected a net of ₹31.72 crore in India and was declared a "flop" by
''Box Office India''.
Critical response
''Dil Bole Hadippa!'' received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics.
Taran Adarsh of
''Bollywood Hungama'' rated it 2 out of 5, describing it as an "ordinary fare."
Sukanya Verma
Sukanya Verma is an Indian journalist and film critic. She has been the principal movie reviewer with web portal '' Rediff.com''. She has written a number of columns as a freelance writer for ''The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English ...
of
Rediff.com gave it 2.5 out of 5, stating, "Though not necessarily a bad film, it suffers from too many
déjà vu
''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is the phenomenon of feeling like one has
lived through the present situation in the past.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford University Press. pp. 167–1 ...
-evoking distractions to wholly work."
Soundtrack
The soundtrack of ''Dil Bole Hadippa!'' was composed by
Pritam, with lyrics by
Jaideep Sahni. The track "Ishq Hi Hai Rab" was melodically composed by UK-based music director
Mukhtar Sahota. The background score was composed by
Julius Packiam.
Track listing
In popular culture
Following
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...
's election as
Prime Minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada () is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons ...
in 2015, an earlier video of him dancing to the film's title track resurfaced online.
References
External links
*
*
{{Twelfth Night
2009 films
2000s Hindi-language films
Films scored by Mukhtar Sahota
2009 romance films
Films set in Amritsar
Films set in Lahore
Films about cricket in India
Cross-dressing in Indian films
Yash Raj Films films
Films featuring songs by Pritam
Films directed by Anurag Singh
Indian remakes of American films
Films based on Twelfth Night
Films adapted for other media