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Cast:
John Abraham, Naveen Andrews, Bipasha Basu, |
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Arshad Warsi, Raj Zutshi Dibyendu, Boman
Irani, |
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Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Kushal Punjabi,
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Dilip Tahil |
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Banner:
UTV Motion Pictures |
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Producer:
Ronnie Screwvala |
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Direction:
Vivek Agnihotri |
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Music:
Pritam Chakraborty |
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| 'Dhan
Dhana Dhan Karenge Goal' - The tune is everywhere. Be it the
opening moments of the film when it plays on subtly in the
background as the flop-brigade of Southall football club
comprising of men from Indian, Pakistani and Bangaldeshi
origin try to find their bearings. Be it the moments when
their slightly pot bellied coach - Boman Irani - with an
agile mind, precise reasoning and love for the game tries to
infuse some self respect into them more than skills. |
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Be it the time when the team comes together to
create this anthem and fine tune the rough edges
while traveling in a privately owned bus that that
may have been rampaged in World War II. Be it the
time when the team members come together, and come
together in the true sense, for the first time in a
league match and sing the anthem with their eyes
closed and fists locked. And be it the time when
they start tasting success for the first time, only
to take it forward till the grand finale. |
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The theme
is special because the team led by Arshad Warsi has never
felt how a win looks like. This is the reason why they
concentrate more on defense rather than attack. Because
their eyes are always set on saving that goal rather than
scoring one. And the only man who could reverse the fortune
is John Abraham, a BBFCD i.e. British Born and Forced to be
Confused Desi, whose heart pines for playing with the 'gora'
team.
This is
where the racism angle is brought in which is not so subtle
but also not so on-the-face that it diverts a viewer's
attention from the theme of sports, self-respect and
international integration. In fact this is one area where
director Vivek Agnihotri needs a pat on his back as he
brings forth the issue of racism when it comes to brown skin
but keeps it well integrated as a part of the script rather
than making it look artificial and gimmicky. |
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Coming back to 'Goal', it is it's setting which
succeeds in giving a different color to the film. As
the film is entirely set in UK, there is a certain
international look and feel to the proceedings even
when it comes to locations, costumes and accent.
Most of the film is shot in real locations due to
which football grounds, clubs, apartments, bars and
other shops lend an authentic touch to the
narrative.
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think of it, 'Goal' primarily works as an entertainer even
with ingredients like sports, international integration,
racism etc. involved. The film maintains it's consistent
graph and there isn't any demarcation of first half v/s
second half. The film moves on at the same rate for close to
2 hours with last 15-20 minutes showing a peak (expectedly).
The film
requires a build up to the proceedings and all of this
happens at a decent pace while interlaced with some light
humor. There are jokes being shared between team members of
different origins but none being below the belt. Subtle
moments of naughty romance between John and Bipasha is held
well too which works due to it's simplicity. Watch out for
that locker room conversation between the duo! In fact
Arshad's possessiveness for his sister Bipasha, his
insecurity about her falling for John, his own bedroom
conversation with John in a drunken state - all of this
leads to some sugar-sweet chuckles which the audience
doesn't mind in between all the league matches being played. |
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All this while, the film doesn't loose focus to the
core issue of a flop team turning into a
super-force. There are no lectures on motivation or
leadership or 'desh-bhakti' which bring a
turnaround. It is instead a round to Manchester
United and a brief reference to their glorious past
coupled with Boman's 'look-at-the-mirror'
conversation which does the trick. In fact this
scene at the interval is one of the major
highlights. |
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Performances are pretty even in 'Goal'. It would be wrong to
call either of John or Arshad to be THE hero in the film.
Both of them have equal roles in the film and they are in
true sense parallel leads. They get to perform on well
etched roles and come up trumps. Arshad gives yet another
fine performance in a serious role after 'Sehar'. On the
other hand John completely looks the part as a young
footballer who has to balance between his love for sports
and the goodies which come along with it. |
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Ever dependable Boman is good yet again and it is
nice to see him coming up with a composed
performance sans any exaggerated expressions. Watch
out for his subdued anger when a fight amongst team
members breaks down in the locker room! Dilip Tahil,
who is now seen occasionally in films, is impressive
as a sports commentator cum player broker. The
ladies who play Arshad's wife and the British
officer fit the part well. Raj Zutshi comes up with
one of his best performance while not being
predictably hammy (as he is in most of his films).
Kushal Punjabi is nice while the young man who plays
Bangladeshi migrant is good. |
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