Goal (2007 Hindi film)

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
Theatrical poster
Directed byVivek Agnihotri
Written byScreenplay:
Rohit Malhotra
Vikramaditya Motwane
Dialogues:
Anurag Kashyap
Rohit Malhotra
Story byRohit Malhotra
Produced byRonnie Screwvala
StarringJohn Abraham
Bipasha Basu
Arshad Warsi
Shernaz Patel
Judan Ali
CinematographyAttar Singh Saini
Edited byHemal Kothari
Music bySongs:
Pritam
Background score:
Sanjoy Chowdhury
Production
companies
Distributed byUTV Motion Pictures
Release date
  • 23 November 2007 (2007-11-23)
Running time
167 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹190 million[1]
Box office₹217.2 million [2]

Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal (transl. 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.[3] The film was premiered in the Tous Les Cinemas du Monde (World Cinema) section of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.[4][5]

Plot

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Jaidev and Kavita Bhasin live a middle-class 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 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 the 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

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Production

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The film had the working title of Goal until August 2007.[6]

Locations

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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.[7]

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

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Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
Studio album by
Released30 October 2007 (2007-10-30) (Digital Release)
23 November 2007 (2007-11-23) (Film)
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Label
ProducerRonnie Screwvala
Pritam Chakraborty chronology
Life In A... Metro
(2007)
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
(2007)
Singh Is Kinng
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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.[8]

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

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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."[9]

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."[10] 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.”[11] 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."[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal - Movie - Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  2. ^ Hungama, Bollywood (23 November 2007). "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal Box Office Collection | India | Day Wise | Box Office - Bollywood Hungama". Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Box Office 2009". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Preview: Acceptance in Cannes bestows prestige and honour". Monsters and Critics. 30 September 2012. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012.
  5. ^ "Cannes, India celebrate 60 years".
  6. ^ Adarsh, Taran (2 August 2007). "Goal gets a new name". IndiaFM. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  7. ^ "IndiaFm: On the Sets (Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal)". DNA. Archived from the original on 26 November 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2007.
  8. ^ "Indiafm.com: Music review of Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal". DNA. Archived from the original on 26 November 2007. Retrieved 3 November 2007.
  9. ^ "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal Review 3/5 | Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal Movie Review | Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal 2007 Public Review | Film Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Goal: The Rediff Review". rediff.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  11. ^ Bhaskaran, Gautaman (2 December 2007). "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal". The Hollywood Reporter. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Review: Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal". Hindustan Times. 23 November 2007. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
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