Goal Premiere: John Abraham In Dubai

Despite endless rumours and raging controversies about the growing differences between them, the Bollywood couple John Abraham and Bipasha Basu looked inseparable on their trip to Dubai yesterday. The two looked every bit a couple in love as they made an appearance at the global premiere of John’s latest movie Goal organised by Star Plus and UTV.

What’s the recent deal with the English Premier League (EPL) about?

ESPN saw bits of Goal and thought it was a great way to promote football in India. So they approached me to be the brand ambassador for the EPL in India until EURO 2008. As their official brand ambassador, my role would be to help ESPN promote EPL in India. I am a big football fan and even watched the last World Cup final live at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.

If it wasn’t for acting would you have chosen football as your career?

For sure. I started out as the captain of my school football team and went on to become the captain of my college team. Had I continued I would have played for India. But then came a time I had to choose between football and a degree in business management. I went with the latter as there was no money in football at the time. I know I would never be able to do that bicycle kick and score the final world cup goal, but I have sort of realised that dream through Goal.

A bad year for many Bollwyood couples. Too many splits. What is it about Bollywood that ruins star marriages?

Relationships in Bollywood are the same as anywhere else in the world. I am sure office bosses see their secretaries or colleagues, but it becomes more conspicuous if people involved are from the film industry. A lot of relationships fail because they can’t handle these pressures.

The recent hit Chak De raised the bar in the field of movies about sports. How would you handle the audience expectations of Goal and the comparison between the two movies?

Except that they are about sport, the two are totally different films. There are no similarities in terms of structure, story telling or screenplay. I am sure when people go and watch the first seven minutes of Goal the comparison will stop. Chak De was India, Goal is Asia.

Goal is said to deal with the issue of racism. Have you ever been at the receiving end?

Quite recently, during the promotion of Goal in Delhi. I was in a lift with Bipasha and a few India football players and a white guy in the lift walked out. There was also a racist attack on Bipasha and Arshad Warsi in London during the shooting of Goal where a bunch of white guys came and hurled racist remarks at them. We are in 2007, but sadly it still exists.