Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal

When I went to watch this movie, I knew that it was based on "soccer," which is like a national sport in this country and almost everyone, no matter what religion, caste or colour they are, support a team, whether it is in the Premiere League or even a local league. Every Saturday or Sunday and sometimes during the week days, many people go to watch their teams play.

Shaan, captain of a local team, Southall United, is struggling not, only just to help the club to survive, but also help the players who are all Asians - Indians, Pakistani and Bangladeshi. One day, he is called in a meeting to be informed that the club may be demolished due to financial reasons. But he promises the owner that he will do whatever he can to make sure that this doesn't happen. Unfortunately, the owner soon passes away and it is up to Shaan to take control. He then goes in search of an ex - Southall United player, Toni Singh as he believes that he can save the club from closure. On re - building the team spirit, one of the players, in search of a physiotherapists, suggests Rumana, who is Shaan's sister. She agrees and during training session, she informs Toni that she has a good striker in mind but who is currently playing for their rival.

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal is s movie that is purely based on soccer and stars John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Boman Irani and Dalip Tahil, Arshad Wasi, directed by Vivek Agnihotri and is written by Anurag Kashyap. John Abraham, whose films have not done really all that well this year, has for sure proved that he is talented by giving a good performance and fits the role very well. The same goes for Arshad Wasi. But Bipasha, who, while promoting the Taj Mahal for the Seven Wonders of The World, was photographed kissing the Manchester United striker, Christiano Ronaldo, and was rumoured to splitting with John Abraham, has very limited role in this movie. But another actor, who has proved his versatility, in movies such as "Lage Raho Munnabhai", "Munnabhai M.B.B.S" and "Don - The Chase Begins," Boman Irani, is again good in this movie and has proved that he can play his roles of an aggressive character very well. Vivek Agnihotri has also done a good job of the direction as has Anurag Kashyap in writing it.

This is a very well researched made movie, in terms of research as well and what has made it better is that it was almost entirely filmed at London's Chelsea Football club, one of the current top teams in this country. The grounds used were those of the club. Howeve, in one scene, Manchester United Football Club can be seen and one scene is filmed inside the "museum" area where there are names, etc, of the players who were killed in the Munich air crash. The film makers were reported to have received a lot of help from Chelsea Football club and there were reports that some of the Chelsea players even kicked the ball around with some of the cast. But this movie has also shown reality and what some foreign players come across on the pitch - racism. Only recently, some players did complain that racism does exist stands where fans call some of them "names." But there are procedures that enable this to be stopped whenever possible. Also, what was correctly shown is that Indians, Pakistanis and even Bangladeshi people, born in this country do support various teams. The songs are not bad at all considering that there are not many.

Since this movie has drama, tragedy and romance, it is a good movie and more so if you enjoy watching soccer.

Goal proves to be better than Vivek Agnihotri's earlier movie Chocolate.

This movie is about a Football Stadium which is leased to South Hall United Club. But cause of poor form and bad run in the league South Hall didn't had much money to pay money for renewing the lease. Now they have to win the league to win the money and renew the lease which is their only hope. So the captain of the team Arshad Warsi brings in Boman Irani as the new coach of South Hall United Club, former legendary player of the club. Boman thinks they have a good defense but the attack isn't that good so he ropes in John Abraham as the striker. John's father is a big fan South Hall Club and always wanted john to player with his community.

will Jhon, Arshad and Boman will be able to win the league for the first time for South Hall Fans ????????

Arshad was very good in the movie but i didn't felt same for John. Boman again proves why people loves him as an actor. Bipasha character is just to provide a love angle not much of weightage but bipasha was good in the short and sweet character.

The climax is one you can say the best part of the movie. So Goal is a one time watch able movie.

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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Let's start with the most important question-Is this a bollywood version of GOAL (2005) starting Kuno Becker? Well, it's definitely a no. And now to the other important question-is it as gripping as its Hollywood counterpart-the answer again is no! But that doesn't mean that DHAN DANA DHAN GOAL isn't watchable. It's an average movie with some interesting sequences.

Set in London (and in particular the South Asian hub Southall), the story revolves around a bankrupt football club-SOUTHALL FC which is struggling to keep itself afloat. It has no sponsors and no money and hasn't won a match in nearly two decades!!! None of its players are professionals but a bunch of full-time dads, butcher shop owner, garage owners etc. It is completely made up of expatriate Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Adding to their woes is a greedy commentator cum businessman, played by Dilip Tahil, who wants to grab the ground of the football club to build a shopping mall and theme park. To sum it up the club is in dire straits and the only way of survival is to win their League Championship and get the prize of 3 Million Pounds!!! Really a tough ask for Southall FC.

Thus the story revolves around the resurrection of the football club through a former player of its-played by Boman Irani. This time he takes the mantle of the coach after living in wilderness for 22 years!! Arshad Warsi and John Abraham are the key players of the club around which the team revolves.Bipasha plays the team's doctor.

The main problem with this movie, in my opinion, is that it tries to pack a lot in those reels and that stretches it rather close to 3 hours. That wasn't required. The basic premises is right but the execution isn't. Some sequences are good-like the one that involves Boman Irani trying to convince John Abraham to play for Southall FC. The final match is another sequence that stays with you. I am not too convinced with the racism angle involving John Abraham. And especially, in today's time when an iconic club of England-Arsenal doesn't have one English player in its starting line-up!!! The picturisation is good. The locales of England are something that we bollywood fans have grown use to. But the sequence involving the home ground of Manchester United will please a lot of serious soccer fans! All the performances in the movie are good. John's soccer skills are very very fine! Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani are good too. Bipasha is just there-nothing spectacular on her part! Overall 6/10. Not Too exciting!!

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 !!!