''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 Rani Mukerji (; born 21 March 1978) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Noted for her versatility, she is the recipient of multiple accolades, including eight Filmfare Awards. Mukerji has featured in listings of the leading and hi ...

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 Anupam Kher (born 7 March 1955) is an Indian actor, director and producer who works primarily in Hindi cinema. In a career spanning over four decades, he has acted in more than 540 films. A veteran of Indian cinema, Kher is recipient of two Na ...

Dalip Tahil Dalip Tahil (born Dalip Tahilramani; 30 October 1952) is an Indian people, Indian film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for his work in ''Baazigar'' (1993), ''Raja (1995 film), Raja'' (1995), ''Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke'' (1993) and ' ...

Rakhi Sawant Rakhi Sawant (also Rakhi Sawant Fatima; born Neeru Bheda; 25 November 1978) is an Indian media personality, actress and dancer, who has performed item numbers predominantly in Hindi films. Her notable film appearances have been in '' Chura L ...

, and

Sherlyn Chopra Sherlyn Chopra (born 11 February 1987) is an Indian actress and model known for her work in Hindi and Telugu films. She made her debut in 2007 with Red Swastik. In July 2012, Chopra gained media attention after appearing cover for American ' ...

. 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 A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to handheld game conso ...

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 Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

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

as Rohan Singh, Vicky's son *

as Veera Kaur / Veer Pratap Singh *

as Chaudhary Vikramjeet Singh (Vicky), Rohan's father *

as Liyaqat Ali Khan (Lucky) *

as Shanno Amritsari *

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 Poonam Dhillon (born 18 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician. A former Eve’s Weekly Miss Young India 1978, she is best known for her 1979 film ''Noorie.'' Some of her well-known films include '' Red Rose'' (1980), '' Dard'' (1981), ...

as Yamini Singh (Vikram's wife) *

Shonali Nagrani Shonali Nagrani is an Indian actress, tv host and beauty pageant titleholder. She hosted Indian Premier League. She has also appeared in Hindi language films. She entered the Femina Miss India pageant in 2003 and was crowned Femina Miss India ...

as herself

Production

for ''Dil Bole Hadippa!'' began on 17 July 2008.

’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

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 Taran Adarsh (born 13 June 1965) is an Indian film critic and trade analyst. He is best known for giving trade figures and box office updates on social media, as well as his reviews for Bollywood Hungama. Career Taran Adarsh started his journ ...

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 ...

Rediff.com Rediff.com, stylized as rediff.com, is an Indian news, information, entertainment, and shopping website. Founded by Ajit Balakrishnan in 1996, it was the first Indian website to become a mainstream news media organization. It is headquartered i ...

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 Pritam Chakraborty (born 14 June 1971), also popularly known mononymously as Pritam, is a National Award winning Indian composer, instrumentalist, music producer and singer. Graduating from FTII in Sound Engineering, he worked as an ad jin ...

, with lyrics by

Jaideep Sahni Jaideep Sahni is an Indian screenwriter and lyricist who is known for his work in Hindi films. He has written screenplays for films such as '' Bunty Aur Babli'' (2005), ''Chak De! India'' (2007), '' Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year'' (2009) a ...

. The track "Ishq Hi Hai Rab" was melodically composed by UK-based music director

Mukhtar Sahota Mukhtar Sahota is a British Punjabi music composer and producer, associated with the group Sahotas. After the 2004 tsunami in Asia and the 2005 Kashmir earthquake An earthquake occurred at on 8 October 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a terr ...

. The background score was composed by

Julius Packiam Julius Packiam is an Indian film score composer. He has composed the soundtracks for ''Ek Tha Tiger'', ''Tiger Zinda Hai'', ''Dhoom 3'', ''Baaghi'', ''Baaghi 2'', ''Bajrangi Bhaijaan ''Bajrangi Bhaijaan'' () is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language ...

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