Foul play

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
Cast: John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Arshad Warsi, Boman Irani
Direction: Vivek Agnihotri
Rating: **

It may be called ‘Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal’ but unfortunately nothing happens dhan dhana dhan… neither does the film move so nor do the goals happen dhan dhana dhan. In fact, one word to aptly describe Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal would be laboured.

Much water flows in the Thames before the individual characters of a motley football team in Southall, captained by Shaan Ali Khan (Arshad Warsi) are established. Southall United, a team high on enthusiasm and aspiration but painfully low on resources, and without either gear or coach, is in dire straits.

Their lease on their stadium land is up for renewal and is already being eyed by sharks led by the council head called Anne whose most used word is ‘shit’ when things aren’t going her way. In cahoots with her is commentator Johny Bakshi (Dalip Tahil). Not surprisingly, the team has to win the league if they are to keep their playing field.

Meanwhile, there is a confused Sunny Bhasin (John Abraham) born and brought up in England who keeps getting rejected by his club because he is not white. He is not quite English and by inclination not quite Indian. He eventually joins the club when the team’s coach Tony Singh, a failed hero himself, challenges him. The stage is thus set for this till-now loser side to make a try for the highest accolade the game can offer.

Like the recent ‘Chak De’ and to some extent ‘Lagaan’ it’s about the underdog facing all sorts of trials if not downright humiliation to come together to claim victory. Sports is the medium for redemption whether at a personal or team level. It’s all about the triumph of the human spirit.

But ‘Goal’ fritters away so much time in needless back stories and basic preparations for the game that interest in the story wanes considerably in the first half. It is only in the latter part of the film when the team is playing better and winning matches that the speed of the film picks up but by then it is a  little too late. Thankfully, the story does not meander much in the direction of the love story between Sunny and the physiotherapist on the team Rumana (Bipasha Basu).

‘Goal’ belongs to the men, and despite some stereotyping (the Sardarji on the team has a garage, the Muslim has a butcher’s shop and so on), they support the main players well. Boman Irani has a tendency to ham, especially in emotionally charged scenes.

John Abraham suits the role of a footballer and with his shorn locks and lean physique looks the part. He doesn’t have much emoting to do and gets by ably. But the film is really Arshad Warsi’s who is wonderfully adept both on and off the field, proving once and for all that there is much more to this under-appreciated actor than Circuit and comedy.