Goal

Director: Vivek Agnihotri

Producer: Utv Motion Pictures

Starring: John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani

Music: Pritam Chakraborty

Southall…the heartland of Asian community in the United Kingdom, the new destination for Bollywood movie mavericks, gets its first major salutation from filmdom through 'Dhan Dhana Dhan…Goal'. After clumsily conceived 'Jhoom Barabar Jhoom', this spectacularly directed film relives the passion for the city of Southall and back-to-back success for sports centric films.
Like Shimit Amin ('Chak De India') and Nagesh Kukunoor ('Iqbal'), director Vivek Agnihotri excels potentially both as a competent story teller and as a skilled technician for a sports oriented entertainer. It's indeed a blissful treat for the film industry that is craving hard for fresh genres, subjects and concepts.
If 'Chak De India' has the soulfully resounding theme of pop patriotism, then 'Dhan Dhana Dhan…Goal' is microscopic about the blasphemous subject of racism. In the film, the protagonists are not Indians; they are distressed and down in the dumps NRIs and peoples from Asian communities.
The offensive concept of racism had bleak presence in average grosser - 'I Proud to be Indian' - but 'Dhan Dhana Dhan…Goal' permeates into the concept. Agnihotri takes a difficult and unconventional route of conceptualizing it with a sport centric subject and succeeds in every department.
Real or fiction, the film holds audiences till its last reels and despite its long duration (18 reels), it entertains and enthralls to the hilt. It's a great joyous moment that Bollywood has grown substantially in delivering two successful sports centric film in one year.
Vivek Agnihotri's immaculate infatuation with the exotic charms of the United Kingdom landed him earlier with crime thriller 'Chocolate' and now he hits the bull's eye with 'Dhan Dhana Dhan…Goal'. If 'Chocolate' has the decorum of intrigue and treachery in daunting tones and vibes, then his second venture has the modesty of fanaticism, patriotism and sportsmanship.
The film delves into racism where sportsmen from Asian communities are discriminated and later exterminated from glory. The film has its soul and skin from Hollywood's all-time classic 'Escape to Victory' where a bunch of distressed youth outsmarts their superior. Ashutosh Gowarikar's 'Lagaan', Mansoor Khan's 'Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander' and recently released 'Chak De India' excelled to success in a similar way and now 'Dhan Dhana Dhan…Goal' joins the list.
'Dhan Dhana Dhan…Goal' has the backdrop of Southall United Football, one of the most underestimated clubs in England. The first half shows the misery of dilapidated condition of ramshackle Southall United Football Club, both professionally and monetarily.
The club is running short of sponsors, funds and stars and now faces the tremors of being uprooted by law forces. The film has engrossing moments where not so professional footballers dream big of outsmarting the best in the business. The second half is the journey from misery to glory and has its share of high and low in its cinematic depiction.
Here the real hero (John Abraham) is the bad guy who prefers riches to passion as he feels that he's an unappreciated genius torn between his sporting passion and domineering father. The climax takes him back to his roots till the last whistle blows for the club's glory and success.
Agnihotri recreates new style of drama through estranged but yet interesting characters and fictionalized plots that were earlier visited in 'Chak De India'. An over-possessed football team captain (Arshad Warsi) is hell bent to resurrect his club but underestimates the credentials of being together as a unit on field.
Distressed football coach (Boman Irani) is still living under the shadow of his evil past till he gets the opportunity of his lifetime to coach this bunch of disarrayed sportsmen. The indiscipline of footballers makes him even more efficient and vibrant and finally he gets the best out.
An over-excited car mechanic (Raj Zutshi) who sacrifices his garage for the upliftment of the club is well short of amiable football techniques. Disgruntled from his motherland, a sporty Bengali guy (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) dreams of being part of the winning team at English Premiere League but the raw attitude of fellow men plays spoils sport.
Finally, there is spoilt brat (Kushal Punjabi), who prefers to skip his mutton shop for football but lacks the good quality of being a competent goalkeeper. On the contrary, there is lusty and greedy commentator (Dalip Tahil), who eyes this down in the dumps football club but finally loses to their self-confidence, perseverance and determination.
Besides these on-field characters, there is benevolence from the ladies department barring the exception of lustfully planted raunchy item song - "Billo Rani". What brings them together - football? But importantly, it's the emotional spirit behind this sport that binds them together and makes a worthy unit out of the team. The film takes a couple of cinematic liberties in the climax but reaches to it thrusting finale in the last reels. Bravo!
In between this tug of war of saving Indian Prime Minister, there are some terribly written characters of Amrita Arora and Sophie Chaudhry spiced up with some really pathetic song sequences. Now, imagine Indian PM asking his security chief (Ashish Chaudhry) to be "cool" and have ball of time with his beloved (Amrita Arora) till evening. This creepy looking cop makes sex with her, inhales cocaine and finally kills her as she finds his real identity. What follows later is outrageously "filmi"?
Now, the technical aspects! It's indeed a great art of camerawork (cinematography - Atarsingh Saini) when the camera contorts brilliantly the magnanimous charms of Manchester Limited football ground.
The resonating impact of background score connects well with the sporting spirit of the film. The scenic depiction of players getting into their sport acts through different camera angles shows the aesthetic values of a competent filmmaker.
Arshad Warsi is a great revelation and shows his finesse in enacting a serious role. His confrontation scenes with John Abraham and also with his wife and his interaction with Boman Irani show the brighter side of his acting skills. John Abraham needed a meatier role but still excels appreciably as a match winner for the film.
John's adaptation to football is brilliant and it shows in one of his scenes where he plays with street kids. After seductive 'Jism', the pair of John and Bipasha has again scorched silver screen in a big way. Boman Irani is in great form and deserves nomination for the "Best Supporting Actor" in the role of a football coach.
It's a euphoric moment when Boman Irani correlates the tragedy of historic footballers and later coincides directly with declining mental and physical states of his team. Indeed, a great team work of onscreen actors along with the technicians as every aspect of the filmmaking gets glorified in the narration.
Bipasha gets miniscule role to play while Kushal Punjabi and Dalip Tahil justify their characters. The telephonic conversation between Kushal Punjabi and his girlfriend is an innovative and entertaining act of writing work (Rohit Malhotra, Anurag Kashyap).
Raj Zutshi gets another worthy role and his experience cum competency is a major positive aspect in the film's promising show. Pritam's music is inspiring in the title track "Hey Dude" but disappoints in the irrelevantly imposed item song "Billo Rani".
Commercially speaking, the film has already minted billions before its release from sponsors and will be roping major profits in coming weekends. The film will surely be getting major acceptance from Gen X viewers and will be the first major threat to 'Om Shanti Om' box office magic. And, finally for all sports loving viewers, it's "Halla Bol…Dekho Goal!"