From riding bikes, John Abharam turns footballer in reel life

Mumbai, July 30 (UNI) Actor John Abraham who rode to fame riding bikes in ''Dhoom'' will now be seen in an sports action drama ''Goal'' produced by UTV.

Putting much speculation to rest about the casting options for their next mega production 'Goal', UTV has announced that John Abraham is their 'gladiator footballer' in the Indian sports action drama to be directed by Vivek Agnihotri.

Says Ronnie Screwvala, CEO of UTV, '''Goal' is one of the most ambitious projects ever mounted in Indian cinema and the entire production team at UTV along with Vivek is working to ensure that we get our homework right to do justice to this amazing concept.'' Speaking from London, John Abraham says, ''I have always been a huge football freak and this passion for the game took me all the way to Germany this year to see the World Cup Finals. I am thrilled that my next visit there will be to actually play on the same field as my sporting icons, when I shoot for 'Goal'!'' Zarina Mehta, COO of Hungama TV says,''Our Hungama TV Talent Hunt 'Oral B John aur Kaun' could not have asked for a better launch pad - a movie with John on the subject of football is good as it gets!'' Vivek Agnihotri says, ''I am raring to go on this project. We have worked round the clock to incubate it and we are now ready to move into the next phase. It is great to have John on board, who himself is an avid football fan and a serious player.'' UTV and Vivek Agnihotri have been developing the concept and detailing the production aspects of the film for the last few months. This is the first of its kind in the genre, and both the studio and the director are keen that they leave no stone unturned in ensuring the authenticity that the production deserves.

To this end, they will be using the services of Andy Ansah, the football choreographer for most feature films and commercials made on the subject of football, including the celebrated Nike campaigns and the acclaimed European film of the same name. Andy has worked with the best football players in the world both past and present: Pele, Eric Cantona, Ronaldinho, David Beckham, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

Location scouting has also begun in right earnest and the crew has zeroed in on Spain and the U K to shoot the game in world class stadiums. 'Goal' will go on floors soon, Mr Screwvala said.

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