Bend It Like Beckham:

A story of a young 18 year British-Indian girl called Jess, who is a big fan of Football (and David Beckham)! Her parents wishes her to be a normal Indian girl, but Jess is invited to play for a female football team which is against the conventions of her parents background...

I saw this film on the cinema (after watching Company), and I was bitterly dissapointed. While the film subject matter is quite fresh, the film's screenplay and direction was too slow. The cast (especially all fine looking females in the football team!) was good, but Anupam Kher was really excellent as the dad. Me thinks us Brits will see more of him in BBC or ITV drama's in the coming year!

The director G Chadha, whose previous films "What's Cooking" and "Bhaji On The Beach" (all looking quite dated), has lost her ground with Bend It Like Beckham. It will do good box-office in the UK cause of the loyal football male followers who want to see women play sports (particular nice looking ones), while female audiences will get to see something quite new on screen in terms of representations of the female gender.

The film has a great soundtrack, and some funny lines (when a conversation of kissing turns to football). I also loved the way the Asian women was chracterised as normal beings (very much against Bollywood conventions). But this ins't enough for the film to be over 2 hours long. Some trimmings and cuts could be made to make the film more tighter, instead of lagging in places.

Its worth watching once on cinema but its not a title I would see again.

This was a fantastic film!
Dont listen to Sunny (listen to me!) This was funny from the start to the end!

Anupham's character (dad) and the mother where both excellent - so funny! Its a big break for a lot of Indian actors and actresses and at one point it looked as if they had grabbed a lot of dadi-ma's from Southhall. Nina Wadia (?) and on of the guys from Goodness Gracious Me where in it aswell in small parts.

There where some really good little twists in the film - such as Jess' male friend!


I have to agree the soundtrack was incredible! The mix of English and Bangra songs were fantastic to listen even though I have heard very little Bangra. Correct me if I am wrong Jas stopped playing football, was there an Indian version of Celine Dion's Power of Love!

My friends and I really enjoyed and so did the other cinema goers and even started clapping at the end!

You must watch this film (and own on DVD!)

If only for the very fit Keira Knightley!



Edited By nads on April 13 2002 at 19:28

Have to admit my mates and others loved this film when we went to see it at the cinema, and indeed the film is funny in many places. But didn't you find it a tad slow in places?

I felt the Ali G film was much more funnier and better!

yeah its true the bit from where she got caught playing and had to stop - during the middle of the film but there were little jokes to push it forward.

I'm not sure if you've seen a UK Drama called This Life (that's DRAMA if you know what I mean) the ending in the wedding hal reminded bit of the final scene from the series, I reckon because of the music.

"This life" was a wicked drama series from BBC, even my mum liked it as she went through a similiar phase sharing a house with her work mates some years back when she was around 18 and understood the humor and story lines.

Your kinda right the endings were similar, in a strange way. I guess it was the music