John got Bipasha interested in football

Mumbai, Oct 26 (IANS) Though she plays a doctor in her forthcoming release "Goal", Bipasha Basu didn't miss out on kicking football in the movie and gives credit to boyfriend John Abraham for teaching her the game.

"I've been a soccer fan for five years. I got interested in the game because my boyfriend likes it. John taught me football in the hotel in London, though if I tried playing the game with the boys I'd make a fool of myself," Bipasha told IANS.

"John is very passionate about two things, bikes and football. He's lucky he got to be in a bike film 'Dhoom' and now a football film," she added.

Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film, which also has Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani, will be released Nov 23.

The actress has been away for quite a while. Barring a week's work in Mumbai she has wrapped up all her shooting in London for "Goal".

"And prior to that I was in Durban for 45 days, shooting for Abbas-Mustan's 'Race'. Then I joined the 'Goal' unit in London. I've jumped time zones and heavy climate changes from 38 degrees to 1 degree to 40 degrees. Fortunately, I haven't fallen sick in spite of the drastic changes in four months.

"Frequent flying gets to me. But staying in different countries for a longish period is okay by me. After three days everything falls into place."

She shot with Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna for "Race" in Durban.

"Apart from the directors Abbas-Mustan, whom I know very well, everyone was new to me. My two co-stars, Saif and Akshaye, were a barrel of fun. I really got along well with Saif. Akshaye was reserved. But great fun once we got to know each other."

In London for "Goal", Bipasha had major fun.

"This was a unique experience. A sporty film and I was the only girl in the principal cast."

Some real life footballers also feature in the "Goal".

"I must tell you we had some really talented real-life Bangladeshi football players in our team in 'Goal'. They aren't actors. But they are naturals on camera. In fact, even the actors like John, Arshad and Boman were chosen because of their familiarity with the game."

An added incentive was the fact that Bipasha got to work with John after three years.

"That was fun. Both of us have grown as actors. And I'm very excited by the chemistry between us in 'Goal'. Unlike 'Jism' and 'Madhoshi', where we had a more sensuous chemistry, in 'Goal' our role is cute, not steamy or sexy, but very real.

"A lot of things went wrong with 'Madhoshi'. After that we decided not to pair together for a while. Look, I couldn't be silly and say I've to work with my boyfriend. We did this film because both suit our roles in 'Goal' to a T. We both took the decision as thorough professionals. And then our personal rapport came in. We had a good time."

Bipasha met up with a lot of John's old friends in London.

"It wasn't a tiring schedule. It just passed in no time."

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