GOAL misses the goal!

Saw Goal today (first day, second show). Frankly, I went with high expectations from the film (based on the promos), but came back somewhat disappointed. Director Vivek Agnihotri has tried hard to create a Chak-de-India type storyline with a Lagaan kind of sentiments. Sadly he has failed at both.

The story is about an English premier league club – Southhall United, which is going through a really bad phase. It is bankrupt, has no star players, no coach, no sponsors, no spectators and no owner. The club faces a sure eviction due to a City Council notice, unless the club management pays 30 million pounds, which the club can only manage by winning the premier league. Shaan [Arshad Warsi] takes up the challenge to save the club from almost-certain closure. He ropes in Tony Singh [Boman Irani] to coach the motley (and out of shape) group of Asians. Sunny [John Abraham] dreams to play for England but is not selected by his club due to racist reasons. Sunny and Shaan never see eye to eye, while Shaan’s sister Rumana [Bipasha Basu] adores Sunny (what else could the hero and heroine do?). Tony convinces Sunny to play for Southall United, but it takes a while before Shaan and the team accepts him as a part of the team. With Sunny joining Southall United, the team gradually starts climbing the league points tally. The City Council is worried. Johny Bakshi [Dalip Tahil], a commentator and a frontman of the Council, lures Sunny away from Southall United, but then in the final match, Sunny predictably re-joins the group and the team wins the league.

The first half of the film is quite predictable (in fact I saw my watch twice in the first half). Though the narrative is very average, the sequence prior to the intermission, at the Manchester United Stadium, is striking, and sets up a marginally better second half. The drama gets better post-interval. Net net, the story is quite simple and predictable, and the camera work and screenplay very average. Though the music is nothing-to-write-about, the anthem Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal has powerful music, and Billo Rani, which is a totally out-of-place mujra, is quite catchy.

I thought Arshad was the “Man of the Match” (strangely though he did not show up at most of the promotion events/TV programs). John looks right for the part, and was the only one in the team who looked anywhere close to a pro. Bipasha did not have any meaningful role. Boman Irani, as always, was brilliant.

Overall, a very average film. If you are a film buff, see it for time-pass. For others, I think it is avoidable.