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Shimit Amin

'Goal' set to put spotlight on Football
20th Nov 2007 13.01 IST
By Agencies

After Shimit Amin 's Chak De India , which took up cudgels for the much neglected sport of hockey in the country, there is tremendous buzz in film circles for Vivek Agnihotri 's Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal , a film which seeks to put spotlight on the game of football in India.

Being produced by UTV and directed by Agnihotri, 'Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal', a contemporary story of the Asian community in the United Kingdom told through the prism of professional football, hopes to do for football what 'Chak De India' did for hockey - raise the profile for professional football in India.

Coming close on the heels of the stupendous success of 'Chak De India', 'Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal', which will releases worldwide this Friday, has evoked tremendous curiosity in the film trade in India, more so because of its ensemble cast with Bollywood hunk John Abraham in the lead opposite Bipasha Basu along with Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani .

The level of curiosity generated by 'Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal' can be gauged from the fact that the film, produced by UTV Motion Pictures in association with its youth venture Bindass, has recovered its cost of production before its worldwide theatrical release on November 23. Syndication of satellite and music rights has fetched Rs 11 crores for the Company.

Further, it has garnered fabulous prices for overseas territory pre-sales, already totalling Rs 1.5 crores. In addition to this, UTV has roped in various top-of-the-line brand partners like Reebok, Western Union, Gillette and others, which have added another Rs 3 crores to the kitty. This is aside from the incredible media and promotional support offered by these brands.

Reebok, which sponsored the clothing line in the film, will retail the 'Goal' range across 535 outlets in India. There will also be co-branded window-displays in Reebok showrooms promoting the Goal collection, which includes apparel and accessories related to football that figure in the movie.

The film has thus recovered its entire cost of production of Rs 16.5 crores, scoring a Goal even before the start of the ''real match at the box office''.

The Company has also licensed the gaming rights for the film to Indiagames, which has tied up with FIFA to launch the Goal-FIFA challenge on the Games-On-demand platform.

Coming at a time when the popularity and viewership of football, especially Indian football tournaments, is on a decline with spotlight being on sports like Cricket and Tennis, 'Goal' is being seen as an attempt to create a buzz for the sport in the country through another story of triumph of human spirit against all odds.

ESPN Star Sports will integrate the catch-line of Goal - Duniya Goal Hai - to promote English Premier League matches to be telecast on ESPN in the month of November.

John and Bipasha will promote the line on ESPN Star Sports through channel ID'S all through November when the channel will run a contest to select 5 winners who get to watch an English Premier League match in the UK.

Closer home, UTV tied up with Zee Sports to organize the Goal Bus Tour in Delhi with the entire Goal team comprising the lead actors and other players of Southall Team, they will also visit malls, schools and colleges in Delhi and interacted with their fans.

Infact, a promotional event for the film in the capital this weekend saw John and Bipasha coming together with real footballers to make a pitch for presenting 'Goal' as an attempt by its makers to raise the pitch for the sport.

''These are the real heroes as they are representing the country on the international level. The film is a way to thank them for their contribution towards football,'' John and Bipasha said.

That the film is aimed at boosting the popularity of football is also evident from the fact that its release next week coincides with the kick-off of the I-League, India's first professional football league.

The star cast of the film has gone all out to promote it, featuring on leading reality talent shows like Nach Baliye, Jhalak Dikhla Jaa and Voice of India, and gracing premieres in Dubai and Mumbai, with a London promotional visit thrown in too.

Says Agnihotri, ''Goal is a film about the triumph of human spirit against the odds. A group of nobodies challenge the system and handle hostile situations in the film.''

Related
Shimit Amin
Chak De India
Vivek Agnihotri
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
John Abraham
Bipasha Basu
Arshad Warsi
Boman Irani


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