| Goal! | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by | Vivek Agnihotri |
| Written by | Screenplay: Rohit Malhotra Vikramaditya Motwane Dialogues: Anurag Kashyap Rohit Malhotra |
| Story by | Rohit Malhotra |
| Produced by | Ronnie Screwvala |
| Starring | John Abraham Bipasha Basu Arshad Warsi Shernaz Patel Judan Ali |
| Cinematography | Attar Singh Saini |
| Edited by | Hemal Kothari |
| Music by | Songs: Pritam Background Score: Sanjoy Chowdhury |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | UTV Motion Pictures |
Release date | 23 November 2007 |
Running time | 167 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (English: Get Set Goal) is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Vivek Agnihotri for UTV Motion Pictures. The film stars John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani. The film's soundtrack is composed by Pritam with lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal is a contemporary fictional story of the South Asian community in the UK, told through the prism of professional football. Upon its release on 23 November 2007, the film received negative reviews and was only moderately successful at the box-office and was declared "Average" by Box Office India.[1] The film was premiered in the Tous Les Cinemas du Monde (World Cinema) section of 2007 Cannes Film Festival.[2][3]
Plot
Jaidev and Kavita Bhasin live a middle-classed lifestyle in Southall, England, with their son, Sunny.
During the mid-80s Jaidev was a huge fan of the all-Asian Southall Football Club, and their team was very successful so much so that it generated hatred from opposing mainstream Caucasian teams, who attacked Jaidev and the team's star player, Tony Singh.
This spelled the end of the team, and the ground was then rented out for weddings and birthday parties. Jaidev wanted Sunny to play for Southall, but Sunny believed himself to be British and joined the Aston Football Club.
When the time comes for selection, Sunny, often referred to as 'Paki', is sidelined. Embittered, he joins the Southall Club, and he, and the Captain Shaan Ali Khan, as well as Coach Tony Singh, steer the team to many victories including a place in the semi-finals.
However, just before Southall team intends to play against Gatwick, they get the news that Sunny has switched to another more prestigious club in exchange for a fancy sports car, a four bedroom mansion, a handsome signing amount, and a generous weekly allowance.
This leaves Southall to turn its ground over to the Chair of the City Council who wants to demolish it, and build a shopping mall and theme park in its place. His actions prompt the community to ostracise him for his betrayal and treat him with contempt and disdain.
However, Sunny eventually discovers the truth of his father's attack and support for Southall. Deeply moved he rejects his contract and heads back to help Southall win the Final match against Aston and redeems himself to his teammates and community.
Cast
- John Abraham as Sunny K.Bhasin
- Bipasha Basu as Dr. Rumana Ali Khan
- Arshad Warsi as Shaan Ali Khan (Rumana's Brother)
- Zehra Naqvi as Jenny (Shaan’s Wife)
- Najia Khan as Shweta (Ranveer’s Girlfriend)
- Kushal Punjabi as Ranveer "Goalie" Chauhan
- Boman Irani as Tony Singh
- Shernaz Patel as Tony’s Wife
- Dalip Tahil as Johny Bakshi
- Rajendranath Zutshi as Monty Singh
- Dibyendu Bhattacharya as Debashish "Debu"
- Shifu Kanishka (Team Member Southhall footballer)
- Saurabh Dubey as Jaidev Bhasin, Sunny's father
- Natasha Sinha as Sunny’s Mother
- Judan Ali as himself
- Ernest Ignasius as Mr.Dhariwahl
- Towsif Jahan as Semi-Professional Footballer
- Sana Khan as item number for song Billo Rani
- Ajay Kalyansingh as Southall United Football Fan
Production
The film had the working title of Goal until August 2007.[4]
Locations
While the film was being shot at Millwall FC’s stadium The Den, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai made a surprise appearance to watch the filming of Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.[5]
Old Trafford is also shown during a scene where Tony tries to inspire the players to play for more than just themselves by telling them the story of the Munich Air Disaster, and how Manchester United fought against the odds; the cast also got to shoot inside the dressing room.
Soundtrack
| Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 30 October 2007 (Digital Release) 23 November 2007 (Film) | |||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Ronnie Screwvala | |||
| Pritam Chakraborty chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Music Review at IndiaFM.com |   |
The soundtrack for the film was released in October 2007. It has been given a rating of 3 out of 5 on indiaFm.com.[6]
Lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Background score by Sanjoy Chowdhury, the son of late Maestro Sri Salil Chowdhury.
| Song | Singer(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Billo Rani | Anand Raj Anand, Richa Sharma | 5:33 |
| Halla Bol | Daler Mehndi | 5:05 |
| Hey Dude | Devrat | 5:00 |
| Ishq Ka Kalma | Neeraj Shridhar | 4:44 |
| Tara Ru | Javed | 3:51 |
| Billo Rani (Remix) | Anand Raj Anand, Richa Sharma | 4:42 |
Critical reception
Taran Adarsh of Indiafm.com gave the film 3 out of 5, saying "On the whole, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal has an ordinary first hour, but the post-interval portions, especially the exhilarating climax, makes up for everything."[7]
Conversely, Raja Sen of Rediff.com gave the film 1 star out of 5, writing ″this film is a complete and utter drag, and a case in point against thoughtless derivative sports films, a trend threatening to grow following the success of fine films like Chak De! India and Iqbal.″[8] Gautam Bhaskaran of The Hollywood Reporter wrote ″the script is full of cliched. Must we continue to make Sikhs the butt of our jokes? Must Indian-British relationship still hang by the thread of such inane terms like 'paki'? Would any sports commentator be stupid enough to expose his designs on television as Bakshi’s Tahil does? This is where Chak De India scores with its neat script and no-nonsense approach with none of the romance, dances and usual Bollywood numbers of Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal.”[9] Khalid Mohamed of Hindustan Times wrote ″To be fair, the last 15 minutes or so do whip up sufficient nationalist fervour. The finale championship game is rigorously conceived and executed, and ably lensed by Attar Singh Saini. For the rest of the way, the helter-skelter direction, the shallow characterisations, the ear-piercing background music score and the slack editing, make you wish you had stayed at home. Honestly, this one’s too much like that famous song Goalie maar bheje mein.″[10]
See also
References
- ↑ "Box Office 2009". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
- ↑ "Preview: Acceptance in Cannes bestows prestige and honour". Monsters and Critics. 30 September 2012. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012.
- ↑ "Cannes, India celebrate 60 years".
- ↑ Adarsh, Taran (2 August 2007). "Goal gets a new name". IndiaFM. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
- ↑ "IndiaFm: On the Sets (Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal)". DNA. Archived from the original on 26 November 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
- ↑ "Indiafm.com: Music review of Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal". DNA. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
- ↑ Hungama, Bollywood. "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal Review 3/5 | Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal Movie Review | Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal 2007 Public Review | Film Review". Bollywood Hungama.
- ↑ "Goal: The Rediff Review". www.rediff.com.
- ↑ Press, Gautaman Bhaskaran,The Associated; Bhaskaran, Gautaman; Press, The Associated (2 December 2007). "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal". The Hollywood Reporter.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Review: Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal". Hindustan Times. 23 November 2007.