By Subhash K Jha

John had a great deal of fun kicking ball in London for Vivek Agnihotri's Goal.

"I'm a trained footballer a member of the Bombay District Football Association. I used to play A-division soccer in college. I was very sporty before I joined film. I used to be very outdoor and bohemian Goal took me back to those days. I'm a having a ball," says John.

Once John returned from London from Goal, he goes straight into Nagesh Kukunoor's Aashaayein. " "At the end of the day I just want to entertain, whether it's Goal or No Smoking ...they're all entertaining films with a message. In 2008 I'll reduce my number of assignments. Right now I'm clearing the backlog."

He sighs in relief. " Life looks good for me. Yeah I guess my two films Baabul and Salaam-e-Ishq in 2007 didn't do well in India. But Baabul was a big hit overseas.

But I refuse to see Kabul Express as a loser. It was made within a budget. It was definitely a plus film. It did incredible business in Mumbai. I'd rather see the glass half full than half empty."

Remind him that he isn't doing any full-on commercial film, and John protests, "Arrey Goal is the best commercial script I've ever done. It's completely masala and you can quote me on that. Every member of the audience from 6 to 60 enjoyed it.? "