''Bend It Like Beckham'' (also known as ''Kick It Like Beckham'') is a 2002

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher,

Juliet Stevenson Juliet Anne Virginia Stevenson, (born 30 October 1956) is an English actor of stage and screen. She is known for her role in the film '' Truly, Madly, Deeply'' (1991), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leadi ...

, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi. In ''Bend It Like Beckham'', Jesminder Bhamra (Nagra) and Jules Paxton (Knightley) chase careers in professional football 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 after, with casting rounded out with the additions of Meyers, Kher, Stevenson, Lewis, and Panjabi by that May.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began in June 2001 and lasted until that September, with filming locations including

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, Shepperton Studios, and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. Production collaborated with

The Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...

, while the film's title refers to David Beckham's

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

free kick technique. ''Bend It Like Beckham'' was theatrically released first in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2002 by Redbus Film Distribution. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the screenplay, light-hearted tone, and commentary on

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, ...

social norms and culture. ''Bend It Like Beckham'' grossed $76.6 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing football sports film. In 2015, it was adapted into a stage musical that opened at the Phoenix Theatre.

Plot

Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra is the daughter of British Indian Sikhs living in Hounslow, London. Jess is infatuated with football, but her parents do not support her interest. However, she sometimes plays in the park with boys, including her best friend, Tony, who is gay although her family thinks he has his eye on her. Her family is occupied with planning for Jess's sister Pinky's imminent wedding. Jules Paxton, a member of the Hounslow Harriers, a local women's amateur football team, notices Jess's football skills, befriends her, and invites her to try out for the team. The coach, Joe—a young Irish former player whose own career was derailed by injuries—accepts her onto the team. Although Jess's parents forbid her to join the team, she plays behind their backs, claiming to have a part-time job when she is actually at football practice. When he learns that Jess is on the team without her parents' permission, Joe pleads with Mr. Bhamra to allow Jess to play, but he refuses, revealing that he does not want Jess to suffer the way he did when he was excluded from a cricket club because of anti-Indian sentiment. With Pinky covering for her, Jess travels with the team to play a match in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

; the Harriers lose the match after Jess fails to score on a penalty kick. When they go out clubbing in

after the match, Jules catches Joe and Jess about to kiss. This sours the two girls' friendship, as Jules also is attracted to Joe. Furthermore, Jess's parents find out she is still on the team by seeing a newspaper article about the Hamburg match. After returning, Jess goes to Jules's house to try to patch up their friendship, but Jules's mother, confused by overhearing only parts of an argument, thinks they are hiding a lesbian relationship. Jess's father secretly attends one of her games, and sees Jess mocked with a racial slur by an opposing player, and Joe hugging her afterward to comfort her. The Harriers qualify for the finals of the league tournament, but the championship match—with an American talent 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 game so she can be happy on her sister's wedding day. The Harriers are behind 1–0 when Jess arrives, but they rally, and eventually Jess wins the game with a free kick. The scout offers Jess and Jules

sports scholarships An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United ...

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic M ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. Jules and Jess share a hug and kiss to celebrate, furthering Jules's mother's suspicions. Jess returns to the wedding, now able to celebrate. Jules's mother gives Jules a ride to the wedding as well, but when they arrive, Mrs. Paxton accuses Jess of being a hypocrite and a lesbian. Jules drags her mother away, angrily clarifying her relationship with Jess. Later that day, Jess has still not told her parents about the scholarship; she is afraid they might not allow her to go to the United States on her own. Tony, out of friendship for Jess, decides to lie to the family and tell them he is engaged to Jess as long as she gets to go to any college 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. But her father announces he doesn't want Jess to suffer as he did, and accepts her desire to play football. Jess runs to the football field to tell Joe of her parents' decision. The two almost kiss, but Jess pulls away, saying her parents would object, and that although they had come far enough to let her go to America to play, she doesn't think they would be able to handle another cultural rebellion from her. On the day of Jess and Jules's flight to America, the two are about to board the plane when Joe arrives and confesses his love for Jess. The two kiss and Jess agrees to sort out their relationship (and her parents) when she returns for Christmas. While at the airport, they see David Beckham with his wife Victoria, which Jules takes as a sign. Then the two leave through the gate giving happy waves to their families. While Jess and Jules are away, Mr and Mrs. Paxton patch up their relationship, Pinky becomes pregnant and Mr. Bhamra gets back into playing cricket with Joe.

Cast

Production

Gurinder Chadha co-wrote the script with Guljit Bindra and screenwriting partner Paul Mayeda Berges. Nayar and Chadha actively pursued financing for the film at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...

. 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 and The Film Council. The film is loosely based on the life of

Permi Jhooti Permi Jhooti is an English former footballer who played for Fulham L.F.C. Fulham FC Women, previously known as Fulham LFC, WFC Fulham and Fulham FC Foundation Ladies, is a women's football club based in London, England. The team were dissolved a ...

. Helkon SK, formerly known as Redbus, picked up the script. Fox Searchlight Pictures picked up the rights for distribution in the United States at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

in 2002.

Filming

Principal photography began on 18 June 2001. A variety of locations around

and Shepperton Studios, Surrey were used for the nine-week shoot, with the semi-final taking place over a three-day period in

, Germany.

Casting

Chadha, who played an active role in casting, chose Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley, who would play the two lead roles in the film, while Archie Panjabi and Jonathan Rhys Meyers were in early talks to join the cast. Shaznay Lewis and Anupam Kher were also in final talks.

and Frank Harper joined as Paula Paxton and Alan Paxton, mother and father of Jules. For the role of Jess's mother, Mrs Bhamra, Chadha turned to Shaheen Khan, whom she had previously cast in '' Bhaji on the Beach''. Anupam Kher, a

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

actor, was cast as Mr Bhamra, Jess's father. Chadha worked with

and ended up casting actual players from a variety of school teams.

Release

Theatrical

''Bend It Like Beckham'' was released theatrically on 12 April 2002 by Redbus Film Distribution. The film then received a limited theatrical release in the United States on 12 March 2003 by Fox Searchlight Pictures. When originally released in the United Kingdom, it topped the country's box office for the next three weekends, before being overtaken by '' About a Boy''.

Home media

The film was released on DVD and VHS on 18 November 2002 by

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. (formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the home video distribution division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Vide ...

, and re-released on DVD and VHS on 30 September 2003 in the United States by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Among the DVD bonus features, there are several scenes that did not make the final release. Some include dialogue from Pinky's friends and from Jules, as well as her mother meeting Kevin and his friends outside a shop, which would have been helpful, as Kevin is mentioned three times but is never seen. On the North American '' Billboard'' 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. In the United Kingdom, it was the sixth most-watched film of 2003 on subscription television, with 810,000 viewers on

Sky Premier Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema on ...

that year. It was later the most-watched film on UK television during the first half of 2005, with viewers on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins ...

during that period. Combined, the film drew at least UK viewership during 2003 and 2005.

Reception

Critical response

''Bend It Like Beckham'' surprised critics and met with mostly positive reviews. Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

gives the film a score of 85% based on 154 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."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

gave the movie a score of 66 based on 32 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Kenneth Turan of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' 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." ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English language, English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, t ...

'' noted the film's social context, saying, " tis 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 travelled miles from the time Chadha's father was denied a pint at some pubs at

Southall Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divid ...

, 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." ''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 of NRI 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 ony, played by Ameet Chana" '' 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." Jamie Russell at the BBC 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." The British film was distributed by iDream Productions in India, and went on to set the record in India for most tickets sold during a single weekend for a foreign movie.

Box office

In the United Kingdom, the film grossed over £11million, making it one of the highest-grossing

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

/ Asian-themed British films. With in US box office revenue, ''Bend It Like Beckham'' became the highest-grossing Indian-themed film in the United States since '' Gandhi'' (1982). At the time of its release, ''Bend It Like Beckham'' became the highest-grossing

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

themed

sports film A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the sp ...

in the United States; it remains the third highest-grossing film there in this genre (behind '' Kicking & Screaming'' and '' She's the Man''). The film grossed worldwide.

Accolades

Wins

* 2004

Pyongyang Film Festival The Pyongyang International Film Festival is a biennial cultural exhibition held in Pyongyang, North Korea. Until 2002, the film festival was reserved to "non-aligned and other developing countries". History The event originated in 1987 as the Py ...

: Music Prize * 2002 Bordeaux International Feminine Film Festival: Best actress, Special Jury Prize, Audience Award * 2002

British Comedy Awards The National Comedy Awards (known as the British Comedy Awards from 1990 to 2014) is an annual awards ceremony in the United Kingdom, celebrating notable comedians and entertainment performances of the previous year. The British Comedy Awards (1 ...

: Best comedy film * 2003

ESPY Awards An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...

Best Sports Movie ESPY Award The Best Sports Movie ESPY Award was an annual award honoring the achievements of an individual from the world of sports film making. It was first awarded as part of the ESPY Awards in 2002, and was discontinued nine years later. The Best Sport ...

* 2004 GLAAD Media Awards: Outstanding Film – Wide Release

Nominations

* 2006 Billie Award – ''Entertainment'' (Best film) * 2004 Writers Guild of America Award – Best Screenplay * 2003

British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

– Best Film * 2003 Golden Globe for Best Film – Musical or Comedy * 2002

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno Film Festival is an annual film festival, held every August in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narrative, documentary, ...

: Audience Award – Gurinder Chadha * 2002 London Film Critics Circle Awards: British Newcomer of the Year – Keira Knightley * 2002 International Film Festival of Marrakech: Special Jury Award – Gurinder Chadha * 2003 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures: Special Recognition * 2002 Sydney Film Festival: PRIX UIP – Gurinder Chadha * 2003 The Comedy Festival: Film Discovery Jury Award – Gurinder Chadha

Soundtrack

The release of the soundtrack in the United Kingdom features bhangra music, and songs by the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vi ...

Victoria Beckham Victoria Caroline Beckham (; born 17 April 1974) is an English fashion designer, singer, and television personality. She rose to prominence in the 1990s as a member of the girl group the Spice Girls, in which she was nicknamed Posh Spice. W ...

and Melanie C and rock band

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. It also features "Baddest Ruffest" by Backyard Dog, the aria '' Nessun Dorma'', from

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long li ...

's '' Turandot'' and excerpts from dance band Basement Jaxx. The USA release rearranges the tracks and excludes some material. "Dream the Dream" appears in the movie but did not make the final cut on the soundtrack.

Release (United Kingdom)

Craig Pruess Craig Pruess (born 1950) is an American composer, musician, arranger and gold & platinum record producer who has been living in Britain since 1973. His career has covered diverse areas including: record production for international stars such a ...

& Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan – "Titles" # Blondie – " Atomic" # Backyard Dog – "Baddest Ruffest" # B21 – "Darshan" # (Movie Dialogue) – "It's Beckham's Corner" #

– "I Wish" # (Movie Dialogue) – "Learn To Cook Dahl" # Malkit Singh – "Jind Mahi" # Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan – "Tere Bin Nahin Lagda" # Bally Sagoo Feat Gunjan – "Noorie" # (Movie Dialogue) – "Juicy Juicy Mangoes" # Basement Jaxx – " Do Your Thing" # (Movie Dialogue) – "Eyes Down" #

– " Inner Smile" # Melanie C – "Independence Day" # (Movie Dialogue) – "Can't Make Round Chapattis" #

Hans Raj Hans Hans Raj Hans is an Indian singer who later became a politician. He is a member of Bharatiya Janata Party and a recipient of the civilian honour of Padma Shri. He sings Punjabi folk and Sufi music as well as in movies and has also released hi ...

– "Punjabiyan Di Shaan" # Gunjan – "Kinna Sohna" # Tito Beltrán – " Nessun Dorma" # (Movie Dialogue) – "The Offside Rule Is" # Bina Mistry – "Hot Hot Hot" # Craig Pruess & Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan – "Hai Raba!" #

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

– " Move on Up"

Release (United States)

& Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan – "Titles" #(Movie Dialogue) – "It's Beckham's Corner" #

– " Inner Smile" # Malkit Singh – "Jind Mahi" # Bally Sagoo Feat Gunjan – "Noorie" # (Movie Dialogue) – "Learn To Cook Dahl" #

– "I Wish" # (Movie Dialogue) – "Juicy Juicy Mangoes" # Gunjan – "Kinna Sohna" # Partners in Rhyme (featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) – "Tere Bin Nahin Lagda" # (Movie Dialogue) – "Can't Make Round Chapattis" # Melanie C – "Independence Day" # B21 – "Darshan" # (Movie Dialogue) – "Eyes Down" # Bina Mistry – "Hot Hot Hot" # Blondie – " Atomic" # Craig Pruess & Bally Sagoo Feat. Gunjan – "Hai Raba!" # Tito Beltrán – " Nessun Dorma"

North Korean broadcast

To mark the tenth anniversary of North Korea's relations with the United Kingdom, an edited version of ''Bend It Like Beckham'' was broadcast on

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

n state television on 26 December 2010, Boxing Day. The

British Ambassador to South Korea The British ambassador to South Korea is in charge of the United Kingdom's diplomatic mission to South Korea. The official title is His Britannic Majesty's Ambassador to the Republic of Korea (ROK). History Under the Imperial Chinese tribu ...

Martin Uden Martin David Uden (born 28 February 1955) is, as of December 2012, the co-ordinator of the Panel of Experts at the United Nations which deals with North Korea regarding the sanctions against that country established by United Nations Security Co ...

, said it was the "first ever Western-made film to air on television" in North Korea.

Stage musical

A stage musical version of the film opened at London's Phoenix Theatre in June 2015. On 7 May 2019 it was announced that the stage production, which debuted in London's West End, would have its North American premiere in Toronto, with a limited run at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts' Bluma Appel Theatre beginning in December 2019.

References

External links