| Bend It Like Beckham | |
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 UK theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gurinder Chadha |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jong Lin |
| Edited by | Justin Krish |
| Music by | Craig Pruess |
Production companies |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 112 minutes[3] |
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| Budget | $5.6 million[5] |
| Box office | $92.2 million[6] |
Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002sportscomedy-drama film directed byGurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Guljit Bindra, andPaul Mayeda Berges. The film starsParminder Nagra,Keira Knightley,Jonathan Rhys Meyers,Anupam Kher,Archie Panjabi,Shaznay Lewis,Frank Harper, andJuliet Stevenson.[7] InBend It Like Beckham, Jesminder Bhamra (Nagra) and Jules Paxton (Knightley) chase careers in professionalfootball despite their parents' wishes.
Development for the film began after Chadha, Bindra, and Berges completed the screenplay by early 2001. Nagra and Knightley were hired soon afterwards, with casting rounded out with the additions of Meyers, Kher, Stevenson, Lewis, and Panjabi by that May.Principal photography began in June 2001 and lasted until September, with filming locations includingLondon,Shepperton Studios, andHamburg. Production collaborated withThe Football Association, while the film's title refers toDavid Beckham'scurlingfree kick technique, also known as bending.[8][9]
Bend It Like Beckham was theatrically released first in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2002 byHelkon SK. The film surprised critics, who praised the screenplay, light-hearted tone, and commentary onPunjabi social norms and culture.Bend It Like Beckham grossed $76.6 million at the box office. In 2015 it was adapted into astage musical that opened at thePhoenix Theatre.[10]
Eighteen-year-old Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra is the daughter of BritishIndianPunjabiSikhs living inHounslow, London. Jess is passionate about football, but her parents do not support her interest, preferring that she focus on her studies. However, she occasionally plays in the park with boys, including her best friend, Tony. Jess's family is occupied with planning for the forthcoming wedding of her older sister Pinky.
Jules Paxton, a member of the Hounslow Harriers, a local women's amateur football team, notices Jess's football skills and befriends her, inviting her to try out for the team. The coach, Joe, a young Irish former player whose own career was curtailed by injuries, accepts her into the team. Although Jess's parents forbid her to join the team, she continues playing in secret, claiming to have a summer job when she is actually at football practice. When Joe learns that Jess is on the team without her parents' consent, he pleads with Mr Bhamra to allow Jess to play, but he refuses, not wanting Jess to suffer as he did when he was excluded from a cricket club because ofanti-Indian sentiment.
With Pinky covering for her, Jess travels with the team to play a match in Germany; the Harriers lose after Jess fails to score apenalty kick. When they go out to a nightclub inHamburg after the match, Jules catches Joe and Jess about to kiss. This strains the two girls' friendship, as Jules is also attracted to Joe. Furthermore, Jess's parents discover she is still playing football after her father sees a newspaper article about the Hamburg match. After returning, Jess visits Jules's house to try to mend their friendship but is rebuffed. Jules's mother, overhearing parts of their argument, assumes they are in a lesbian relationship.
The Harriers qualify for the final of the league tournament, but the championship match, with an Americantalent scout in attendance, is to be held on the same day as Pinky's wedding, so Jess resigns herself to missing the game. At Pinky's wedding, Jess is visibly miserable; her father tells her to go to the match so she can be happy on her sister's wedding day. The Harriers are behind 1–0 when Jess arrives, but she eventually wins the match with a free kick. The scout offers Jess and Julessports scholarships atSanta Clara University in California. Jules and Jess share a hug to celebrate, furthering Jules's mother's suspicions. Jess returns to the wedding, happy and able to celebrate. Jules heads to the wedding as well, being given a lift by her mother who, upon arriving, confronts Jess and accuses her of being a lesbian. Jules drags her mother away, angrily clarifying her friendship with Jess and her sexual orientation.
Later that day, Jess fears her parents will not allow her to accept the scholarship. Tony, revealing to Jess that he is gay, lies to the family that he will get engaged to Jess as long as she can attend any university she wants. The Bhamras happily accept, but Jess immediately confesses the truth. Jess's mother ignores Jess's heartfelt speech and scolds Jess's father for letting Jess leave Pinky's wedding. Her father announces he does not want Jess to suffer as he did and accepts her desire to play football, eventually leading her mother to finally accept it as well. At the football field, Jess and Joe almost kiss, but Jess pulls away, saying her parents would object.
On the day of Jess and Jules's flight to the United States, the two are about to board the plane when Joe arrives and confesses his love for Jess. The two kiss secretly and Jess agrees to sort out their relationship when she returns for Christmas. While at the airport, they seeDavid Beckham with his wifeVictoria, which Jules takes as a good sign. The two leave through the gate waving happily to their families.
While Jess and Jules are away, they send a team photo indicating their continued success in football. Pinky is pregnant and Mr Bhamra resumes playing cricket with Joe and Pinky's husband.
Additionally,David andVictoria Beckham appear in non-speaking cameos in the airport scene at the film's conclusion, though David Beckham was portrayed by lookalikeAndy Harmer due to scheduling conflicts while his wife was played by Gill Penny; the real David Beckham does appear via football archive footage and in posters in Jess's bedroom, alongside other Manchester United players such asRyan Giggs. Other players also appear via archive footage such asMia Hamm andBrandi Chastain in a commercial shown at Jules's house.
Gurinder Chadha co-wrote the script with Guljit Bindra and screenwriting partner Paul Mayeda Berges. Nayar and Chadha actively pursued financing for the film atSundance Film Festival. Having previously worked with Road Movies, a German production company on several other projects, Nayar approached them and they came on board, followed by British Screen andThe Film Council. The film is loosely based on the life ofPermi Jhooti.[11]
Helkon SK, formerly known as Redbus, picked up the script.Fox Searchlight Pictures picked up the rights for distribution in the United States at theCannes Film Festival in2002.[12] For its American release, it was suggested that the title of the film be changed toMove It LikeMia, as marketeers were concerned that American audience would be unfamiliar with David Beckham.[13]
Principal photography began on 18 June 2001. A variety of locations aroundLondon andShepperton Studios,Surrey, were used for the nine-week shoot, with the semi-final taking place over a three-day period inHamburg, Germany.[12]
Chadha, who played an active role in casting, choseParminder Nagra andKeira Knightley, who would play the two lead roles in the film, whileArchie Panjabi andJonathan Rhys Meyers were in early talks to join the cast.Shaznay Lewis andAnupam Kher were also in final talks.Juliet Stevenson andFrank Harper joined as Paula Paxton and Alan Paxton, mother and father of Jules.
For the role of Jess's mother, Mrs Bhamra, Chadha turned toShaheen Khan, whom she had previously cast inBhaji on the Beach.Anupam Kher, aBollywood actor, was cast as Mr Bhamra, Jess's father. Chadha worked withThe Football Association and ended up casting actual players from a variety of school teams.[12]
Bend It Like Beckham was released theatrically on 12 April 2002 byRedbus Film Distribution. The film then received a limited theatrical release in the United States on 12 March 2003 byFox Searchlight Pictures. When originally released in the United Kingdom, it topped the country's box office for the next three weekends, before being overtaken byAbout a Boy.[14][15]
On the North AmericanBillboard video charts, the film entered the top ten of the Top DVD Sales and Top DVD Rentals charts, at number six on Top VHS Sales, and number seven on Top VHS Rentals.[16] In the United Kingdom, it was the sixth most-watched film of 2003 onsubscription television, with 810,000 viewers onSky Premier that year.[17] It was later the most-watched film on UK television during the first half of 2005, with7.3 million viewers onBBC1 during that period.[18]
To mark the tenth anniversary ofNorth Korea's relations with the United Kingdom, an edited version ofBend It Like Beckham was broadcast onNorth Korean state television on 26 December 2010,Boxing Day. TheBritish Ambassador to South Korea,Martin Uden, said it was the "first-ever Western-made film to air on television" in North Korea.[19][20]
Bend It Like Beckham surprised critics and was met with mostly positive reviews. Review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 85% based on 157 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The consensus states, "Inspiring, compassionate, and with a sly undercurrent of social commentary,Bend It Like Beckham is a lively feel-good movie that genuinely charms."[21]Metacritic gave the movie a score of 66 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[22]
Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times noted that the film "was really full of easy humor, an impeccable sense of milieu that is the result of knowing the culture intimately enough to poke fun at it while understanding its underlying integrity."[23]
The Times of India noted the film's social context, saying, "[it] is really about the bending of rules, social paradigms and lives – all to finally curl that ball, bending it like Beckham, through the goalpost of ambition ... The creeping divide shows that Britain is changing, but hasn't quite changed yet. The stiff upper lip has traveled miles from the time Chadha's father was denied a pint at some pubs atSouthall, but like dollops of coagulated spice in badly stirred curry, discrimination crops up to spoil the taste, every now and then, in multi-racial Britain."[24]
Planet Bollywood gave the film a mark of 9 out of 10: the "screenplay not only explores the development of Jess as a person, but also the changing values and culture ofNRI teens: Jess's urge to break the social norm of the Indian home-maker, her sister's (Archie Punjabi) sexually active relationship, and the gay Indian [Tony, played by Ameet Chana]."[25]
The Hindu argued, "If ever there is a film that is positive, realistic and yet delightful, then it has to be Dream Production's latest venture directed by Gurinder Chadha... Light-hearted, without taking away the considerable substance in terms of values, attitudes and the love for sport, the film just goes to prove that there are ways to be convincing and honest."[26]
Jamie Russell at theBBC gave it 4 out of 5 stars, and argued that "Mr Beckham ought to be proud to have his name on such a great film."[27] The British film was distributed byiDream Productions in India,[28] and went on to set the record in India for most tickets sold during a single weekend for a foreign movie.[citation needed]
Bend it Like Beckham has also been favorably received byLGBTQ+ community members and press, with one reviewer fromVice noting its discussion of queer themes and symbolic queer undertones. The reviewer also shares: "Keira Knightley toldPrideSource that she wants a lesbianBend it Like Beckham sequel and agreed that her and Parminder's characters should've ended up together."
In the United Kingdom, the film grossed over £11 million, making it one of the highest-grossingBlack/Asian-themed British films.[29] With$32.5 million in US box office revenue,[6]Bend It Like Beckham became the highest-grossing Indian-themed film in the United States[30] sinceGandhi (1982).[31] At the time of its release,Bend It Like Beckham became the highest-grossingassociation football themedsports film in the United States; it remains the third highest-grossing film there in this genre (behindKicking & Screaming andShe's the Man).[32] The film grossed$92.2 million worldwide.[6]
| Music from the Motion Picture Bend It Like Beckham | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Various artists | |
| Released | 2002 |
| Recorded | 2000–2002 |
| Genre | |
| Label | |
| Producer | Various artists |
The UK soundtrack release features bhangra music, and songs by theSpice Girls'Victoria Beckham andMelanie C and rock bandTexas. It also features "Baddest Ruffest" by Backyard Dog, the ariaNessun Dorma, fromPuccini'sTurandot and excerpts from dance bandBasement Jaxx. The US soundtrack release rearranges the tracks and excludes some material."Dream the Dream" byShaznay Lewis andAmar'sHindi cover of"Jennifer Rush's The Power Of Love" appears in the film along with another Hindi cover of"The Power Of Love" with male vocals that appears in the ending credits but these tracks are absent from both of the soundtrack releases.
A stage musical version of the film opened at London'sPhoenix Theatre in theWest End of London in June 2015.[10]
On 7 May 2019 it was announced that the stage production would have its North American premiere inToronto, Canada, with a limited run at theSt. Lawrence Centre for the Arts' Bluma Appel Theatre, beginning in December 2019.[citation needed]
In July 2025, Chadha revealed that a sequel is in the works.[37] Chadha announced that she would be making a sequel toBend It Like Beckham, either as a film or TV series. She hopes to reunite some of the original cast and have cameo appearances by members of theEngland women's football team. She is aiming for a 2027 release, to coincide with the2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil and the 25th anniversary of the original film.[38]
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