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Aug 1, 2003 · Bend It Like Beckham: Directed by Gurinder Chadha. With Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher. Two ambitious girls, despite their parents' wishes, have their hearts set on careers in professional football.
- (117K)
- Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Gurinder Chadha
- 2003-08-01
The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Juliet Stevenson, 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.
Knightley appeared as the eponymous belle époque writer in biographical film Colette (2018) to positive reception. In wartime drama The Aftermath (2019), Knightley portrayed a cold, complex army wife.
YearTitleRole20232021Nell20212020Mar 12, 2003 · When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley), who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team.
- (158)
- Gurinder Chadha
- PG-13
- Parminder Nagra
- IN AMERICA, IT WAS ALMOST KNOWN AS MOVE IT LIKE MIA. In 2002, studio executives at Fox Searchlight were concerned that Americans wouldn’t know who David Beckham was, and wouldn’t understand what it meant to “bend” a soccer ball.
- EVEN THOUGH IT'S NAMED FOR DAVID BECKHAM, THE FILM WAS ACTUALLY INSPIRED BY PLAYER IAN WRIGHT. Chadha said that her initial idea to write a film about “the evolving concept of Britishness” came about when she saw an image of Ian Wright, a black player, wearing the Union Jack flag at the Euro 96 championship.
- GURINDER CHADHA DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SOCCER. Chadha relied on her co-writers to fill in the blanks of what she didn't know, writing “jargon jargon football jargon,” instead of actual content, into the Beckham script.
- BOTH PARMINDER NAGRA AND KEIRA KNIGHTLEY DID ALL OF THEIR OWN SOCCER PLAYING. “I put them into three months solid football training and they had a coach and every day they would in and train," Chadha told blackfilm.com. "
Jan 18, 2023 · Updated. Jan 18, 2023, 6:41 AM PST. Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley starred in "Bend It Like Beckham." Sundance/WireImage via Getty Images. The sports comedy "Bend It Like Beckham" was an...
Jul 11, 2020 · Following the lives of two young football-mad girls, Jess (played by Parminder Nagra), and Jules (played by Keira Knightley), it touched on cultural and racial barriers and gender norms. It provided the launchpad for Knightley’s stellar career, and also helped aspiring female athletes across the world by giving women’s football a major platform.
