AP

New Delhi, Jul 25: World Cup fever may have ended, but Bollywood is just warming up to soccer as the new hot theme at the box office.

Film director Vivek Agnihotri has zeroed in on popular actor Saif Ali Khan to play the lead in his new venture, the aptly titled Goal, a news report said.

"It's basically a social drama with (soccer) as the background," Agnihotri was quoted as saying in the Delhi Times newspaper on Tuesday.

But Agnihotri denies he's trying to cash in on the World Cup mania that gripped millions in India last month.

''I was toying with the idea for a long time and after the World Cup decided to go ahead with it,'' he said.

The director said he is in talks with Khan to set dates for shooting the film. ''We are talking to him and keeping our fingers crossed,'' Agnihotri said.

Agnihotri's debut Hindi film titled, Chocolate, a thriller set in London, earned mixed reviews last year.

Khan, the son of former Indian cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and former actress Sharmila Tagore, tasted box office success after several years in Bollywood. His string of hit movies include Dil Chahta Hai, Parineeta, Hum Tum and Salaam Namaste.