In the footsteps of Chak De India!, Vivek Agnihotri’s Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal is a fellow sports-based film (Note: For the purposes of this review I’m going to call the film Goal as I prefer not to give my fingers typing exercise.) However, it’s quite different as it is based out of the United Kingdom, deals with football and tackles issues of racism within the NRI community. It stars the sizzling pair of John Abraham and Bipasha Basu with Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani for company. Let’s hope for John’s sake that this film works after his latest, No Smoking has emerged as the biggest disaster of the year, critically and commercially.
After Chocolate (remake of Hollywood’s The Usual Suspects), Vivek Agnihotri is back this time with an original script (let’s hope) backed by leading production house UTV. High off the success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Jab We Met, music director Pritam is back for his umpteenth innings this year and promises another chartbusting soundtrack.
Brilliant is all I have to say for the first track of the album. Titled Billo Rani, this track embodies a festive mood with unbelievable mass appeal. It’s semi-qawwali with great beats that make for an extremely catchy listen. Expect this one to work from the word go! If the film works, this track will skyrocket unbelievably. Kudos to Javed Akhtar for writing playful yet wonderfully crafted lyrics. It’s nice to hear Anand Raj Anand after so long, but it’s Richa Sharma who hogs the limelight and is absolutely outstanding! It’s so great to see her singing songs other than the regular rhona-dhona tracks she usually does. This track exposes a totally different dimension to her voice. It comes in a Remix by DJ Amyth which forces the song to lose its Indian appeal and become peppier. It kind of loses its magic, but isn’t so bad. Goal? Without a doubt!
Why does Ishq Ka Kalma seem straight of the Bhool Bhulaiyaa soundtrack? Maybe it’s just me, but this track sung by Neeraj Shridhar just isn’t that great. It’s got a nice tune, but it just doesn’t reach the above average mark especially after such an astounding first track. The lyrics are decent but the English kind of sabotages them because it just doesn’t fit. I’m sure this one will become enjoyable with time, but for now it’s nothing more than ordinary.
Hey Dude seems appropriate for the film as it has a competitive spirit and is quite edgy. Unfortunately it doesn’t give newcomer Devrat much to work with in terms of vocals, and it almost sounds as if he’s talking rather than singing. There isn’t much that can be said for the third track of the album as it offers nothing new but is by new means horrendous either. It should work well within the narrative.
Finally, we’re back on track! Full of spunk, spirit and pride, Halla Bol makes you feel good. There’s just something about that chorus that is so addictive that makes you want to listen to it over and over again. Instead of singer Daler Mendhi stealing the limelight, it’s actually the powerful lyrics and great beats that are the star of the show. This one definitely gives you something to cheer about!
On a far more subdued and sombre note is Tara Ru which seems completely situational. Even after a few listens, it doesn’t register much of an impact though Javed Ali sings well. The lyrics are nice but go to waste in a track that doesn’t do much for the album and isn’t a novel composition by any sorts.
In totality, Pritam’s latest work in Goal hasn’t scored in entirety and is a mixed bag if there ever was one. ‘Billo Rani’ is sure to set the charts ablaze and expect ‘Halla Bol’ to be the next sports anthem after the Chak De India title track. Apart from that, the rest of the tracks are average at best and will probably get overshadowed by the rest of the album.
Those expecting another rocking album will be horribly disappointed. However, if anything, make sure to check out the two awesome tracks of the album. Pritam might have scored a Goal, but not a particularly amazing one.
