Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal

If you're looking for a movie that balances entertainment, emotion, and social commentary, Dhan Dhana Dhan should be at the top of your watchlist. Directed with finesse, this film is a delightful experience that keeps you hooked from start to finish. With stellar performances from John Abraham, Arshad Warsi, and Boman Irani, this movie is a must-watch for cinephiles and casual viewers alike.

The cast is undoubtedly one of the strongest aspects of Dhan Dhana Dhan. John Abraham shines in his role, delivering a performance that showcases his range and versatility. His portrayal is both charismatic and grounded, making him relatable and inspiring at the same time. Arshad Warsi brings his trademark wit and comic timing to the table, infusing the narrative with light-hearted moments that never feel forced. Boman Irani, as always, is a powerhouse of talent. His nuanced performance adds depth to the film, making it a layered and fulfilling experience.

The story of Dhan Dhana Dhan is more than just a tale of triumph or resilience. It incorporates several subplots that enrich the narrative, tackling social issues and personal struggles with sensitivity and care. The film strikes a fine balance between entertainment and substance, ensuring that it appeals to a wide audience.

The songs are catchy and emotional, with lyrics that resonate deeply. Whether it's a high-energy track that lifts your spirits or a soulful melody that tugs at your heartstrings, the music adds an extra layer of appeal to the film. What sets Dhan Dhana Dhan apart from conventional feel-good films is its ability to address a variety of relevant themes seamlessly.

At its core, Dhan Dhana Dhan is a celebration of resilience, teamwork, and the human spirit. It's a film that will make you laugh, cry, and cheer in equal measure. The seamless blend of humor, drama, and social commentary makes it a movie that stays with you long after the credits roll.

Yash Raj Films' Shimit Amin directed movie - Chak De India (2007) can deservingly claim to be the best sports movie made in Bollywood. If we set aside the biopics of the Indian sportspersons released during the past few years, we have got some good and some average sports movies made in Bollywood. The pioneer in this line was Prakash Jha's debut directorial venture - Hip Hip Hurray (1984).

Watching Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007) renders a feeling to revisit both Chak De India and Hip Hip Hurray though it was released barely three and a half months post the release of Chak De India. As the movie progressed scene by scene, a sense of deja vu enveloped me and I strongly felt that the script-writers (Anurag Kashyap-Rohit Malhotra-Vikramaditya Motwane) must have sought inspiration from both these movies when he were writing the screenplay of Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal. Nevertheless, it is to be admitted that it's overall a good movie which entertains as well as motivates albeit in a different setting, i.e., Southall, England.

The main character of the story is not a human-being but a Football club named after its location - Southall United Football Club which has been a loser in competitions for decades and whenever it competes in any event, nobody gives it any chance to win. Now the trouble is, the place of the club taken on lease, is to be vacated unless the lessee pays the due amount of three million pounds to the lessor who is planning to build a shopping mall and a theme park at that place. To save their club, their ground and their passion for Football, the club members which are all Asians, get an opportunity in the form of the English Football League whose winner is going to be paid a sum of (exactly) three million pounds as the prize money. Can they avail the opportunity and make the impossible possible ?

Well, we know the answer. After all, it's a masala Bollywood flick. But then the end of such movies is bound to be a predictable one. The highly admirable two movies mentioned in the beginning of this review are no exceptions in this regard. Now the thing is, despite the predictable end preceded by an adrenaline rushing climax, if the movie is able to keep the audience glued to the screen with unwavering attention, it's a success of the filmmaker. Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal achieves this end only partially. Studded with Bollywood clichés, this movie is unduly long with confused characterization of certain principal characters. The writers and the directors have tried to connect certain facts and tie loose ends in the end and they have also raised the issue of racism (anti-Asian bias) prevailing there but despite (and because of) that, the narrative meanders through confusing lanes and make this lengthy movie an exhaustive one for the spectator.

The most confused character is of Sunny Bhasin (John Abraham) who considers himself a British and not an Indian (his parents are Indian) but does not give a damn for the racial bias imposed on him. And his professionalism is based not on professional ethics but money and allied things. Other characters like the captain of the Football team (Arshad Warsi), his sister who happens to be the physiotherapist of his team (Bipasha Basu) and the coach who is an ex-player of this club (Boman Irani) are relatively less confused but confused beyond doubt. It reduces the credibility of the story despite the fact that the writers have incorporated the real life incident of the Munich Plane Crash happened in 1958 in which eight players of the Manchester United Football Club were killed, into the narrative.

Racism is condemnable irrespective of the part of the world where it is practiced. However imposed patriotism for their country of origin also does no good to the immigrants. Patriotism or love for the motherland (of self or the parents) becomes lifeless and artificial once it is worn on the sleeve. And that's what the writers and the director (Vivek Agnihotri) could not understand. Love for India (or Pakistan or Bangladesh) once shown off unnecessarily by the characters of the story, starts giving the look of something plastic.

The Football matches have been shot well and the art-direction is also up-to-the-mark, the director and the editor could not render the stuff available with them the form of a slick movie. Hence the movie though entertaining, impresses in patches only. Though Football is widely perceived as a violent game, showing the players in a violent mood almost every time is irksome. The romantic track of John-Bipasha is quite unnecessary. Ditto for the item song - Billo Rani. Albeit the music composed by Pritam is good, especially the title track. Background score and the dialogues are so-so.

Acting is good and all the principal as well as the supporting characters have done justice to their roles though Bipasha Basu's character hardly matters in the movie. Ditto for her (and Arshad Warsi's) younger brother's character. John Abraham has a great screen presence which make up for his limited expressions and acting talent. Boman Irani has done a pretty good job as the coach. His speech to his players before the final match is on the lines of Shah Rukh Khan's speech to the female Hockey players in Chak De India but it contains a very good message - ultimately moments only matter whether it's a match or a life and hence they are to be seized to shine and cherish later on, rest is all routine.

Hip Hip Hurray was a Football film only. If some other quality Football movie that comes to mind, it is Bend It Like Beckham (2002). Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal could not match the quality of these classics. It's a decent timepass and a one time watch notwithstanding.

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OK, first things first, India has cricket as it's unofficial national game (kabaddi, ask any1 here and u'll get a blank face). But still, soccer is ultra popular in West Bengal and small factions...So, the chances of this movie doing well were always bleak, and so it didn't do well, but this film was good....i mean GOOD...John fitted the role of a racially abused striker almost perfectly, Arshad was a little sidelined towards the end, still he played a matured role with enough maturity.The team was full of oddballs, but Boman pumped them up, okay, that ManU bit was a bit overboard, still good...U get inspired from champs, don't u...Bips was there just for bollywood style fun...the babe in the item song was uber hot...Arshad's wife was well casted and enacted, and the tale of Southhall's fan was a good twist to the same old tale...The finale was gr8...Overall, a good sports drama...and those who think what happened to John doesn't happens nowadays, wake up idiots, don't u see what the aussies did to India...

The first half of the movie just opens up the story and keeps you imagining for the next half of the story and the second half of the movie is very interesting and exciting. The last 30 minutes of the movie are excellent. The music of the movie is very catchy.

John Abraham is good and perfect for this role. Arshad Warsi is also present throughout the movie and has done a brilliant job here. Boman Irani in a role that demands aggression and intensity is good. Bipasha Basu looks sexy throughout, acts well although her role is limited. Dalip Tahil and the rest of the football players support ably.

The movie is overall good to watch

I am always a sucker for movies about sports, and this is no exception. Went by for a premier show, and I wasn't disappointed. Although I can't say that I'm blown away either. The producers ran into copyright issues with the title of the movie, and had to change it at the last possible moment. I would really have been drastically disappointed had this been a rip off from Santi Munez's tale in GOAL: The Dream Begins. Thankfully it wasn't. Instead it is *inspired* from another old movie named Major League featuring Charlie Sheen, the only difference, that was about baseball, and this is soccer. Add to it some Bollywood masala, and you got yourself a classic.

The story is simple. There this town Southall, which is basically an Indian community, and they have their own movie theater. But they have failed to pay for their soccer grounds and the city community wants to sell it off. So the only way to save their grounds is to win the championship, something that the club hasn't managed a single time. But as it turns out, they get the team together, and somehow pulls it off. LOL, there is a interesting side plot featuring John Abraham's character and his family history, also an interesting scene in the Old Trafford dressing room. It's always nice to see the Theatre of Dreams.

Bipasha Basu is excessive corny than necessary. John Abraham flaunts his biceps throughout. Arshad Warsi gives a reserved performance, Boman Irani is fantastic as ever. There's also real nice performances from Rajendranath Zutshi and Dalip Tahil. Yet, at the end of the day it fails to live up to hype. It happens to be a sad remake of yet another lesser known Hollywood movie. The music is good, although sometimes it feels blatantly unnecessary. The camera work, cinematography is good. And those soccer skills owns !! 8/10 !!!