All audience reviews of Bend it like Beckham

A story oriented around football, one of the favorite sports in the west and a Sikh oriental family gives the film a cosmopolitan look. The beckham is more of aadding a football flavor, and the final outcome, the movie takes you to a fun ride.

Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), an 18 year old girl of Sikh family from India, now in londong. Her father is Anupam Kher. She likes to play football, and tries that in the ground, but her parents with traditional indian mindset doesn't allow her to play for. Jules (Keira Knightley) identifies her talent and takes him to the coach Joe (Jonathan Meyers). They start the training, Jass hiding this from her parents. Now its her sister wedding, and the club for which she was playing for has reached the finals of the tournament. Jess' mother and father vehemently denies her playing for. Anupam shares his grief of been thrown out of the cricket team because of his religion.

The mother is witty and very funny, the way she rebukes her daughters you don't know how to make rotii and playing all football with guys, is hilarious. Her punjabi tadka to English gives it a wonderful look. Anupam Kher is good, Parmindra is very fluent and convincing.

The movie is fun, at times mocking on Indian beliefs, and at times on the practices like the girls have to be shy on their parents wedding. It sends the message about girl's independence although you neever feel its a preaching movie. You are excited throughout hte length of the film. less

The more influences a story is open to, the more depth it has. If it can still maintain focus throughout, the effect is epic.
Bend it Like Beckham, unlike Gurinder CHadha's later films, manages that. It combines Punjabi and European cutlture, and blends Hollywood and Bollywood flavors to lend itself a unique soul.

Chadha clearly borrows from the dilemma that confronts Brit-Asians- To be or not to be, in more ways than one.
Jess(Parminder Nagra) is a talented footballer. But before she battles other footballers, she must battle prejudices at home- like, get married and meet her destiny's end. Cook aloo-gobhi. No boyfriends and by translation, no sex. She does the next best thing- follow her heart anyway. And for that, she confides in her best friend Jules(Keira Knightley). Bollywood shows itself up as something of a love triangle-Both Jess and Jules are attracted to Joe(Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who reciprocates Jess's advances. Jules walks in on them when they are about to kiss, and then walks out. Of course, good friends that they are, they kiss and make-up. But now Jules' mom thinks they are both lesbians. Oh the complications in filmdom!
All this while, the girls get better at football, Jess resists demands to get married to Tony(Ameet Chana) and her sister Pinky(Archie Panjabi) is on her way to getting married. The climax of the film calls for epic drama: with Jess playing the match of her life during Pinky's marriage. Changing from Sari to soccer kit in the car, I'm sure, must have been an amusing sight to shoot, but takes nothing away from the scene's intensity, which is enhanced by the background score.
The predictable happens, but some honest acting makes it fun: the match meets its destined end of a penalty shoot-out. All hopes rest on Jess- her family's and her team's.
She obliges, and kicks ass. She has just won herself a football scholarship to college and her family' trust. And a boyfriend in Joe. Curtains.

A particularly poignant scene, for me, is Jess's father(Anupam Kher) agreeing to let her play, taking a leaf out of his own life, confessing that he didnt want her to make the same mistake of accepting situations like he did in his prime.

Clearly a trend-setting film in its own right, and honest in its depiction of Brit-Punjabi culture. less

Jess Bhamra (Parminder K. Nagra) is an Indian girl living in London with her parents (Anupam Kher & Shaheen Khan) and older sister, Pinky (Archie Panjabi.) She dreams of becoming a big soccer star like her idol, David Beckham. She loves football like crazy and is indeed a good player,her Asian parents don't approve of it.As her mum says: "Who'd want a girl who plays football all day but can't make aloo gobhi?". They want to find a nice Indian boy to marry,just like her sister. As the fate would have it,one day, a British girl named Jules Paxton (Keira Knightley) sees Jess playing in the park with her friends, and is impressed with her skills. Jules plays for a local all-girls team and talks her coach, an Irishman named Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), into letting Jess try out for the team. Jules wants to play professionally in America, which is just fine with her dad, Alan (Frank Harper), but her mom, Paula (Juliet Stevenson), doesnt think that football is for girls.Jess and Jules become the two top players on the team,and the best friends. Jules is very tomboyish and this leads her mother Paula to think that, her daughter is a lesbian.Jules is so tomboyish, yet close to Jess, Paula assumes her daughter is a lesbian, and Jess is her girlfriend. One of her bits of proof is that she thinks she overhears a lovers spat one afternoon between Jules and Jess. Things become further complicated when both girls fall for Joe but Joe expresses his feelings for Jess.With the conflict over Joe and the stress of having to deceive her parents in order to play soccer, Jess must decide whether to keep pursuing her dream or honor her parents wishes. This is the film is all about.
It is nice to see that an Indian film maker can make a entertaining football film yet keeping the Indian masala intact.Gurinder Chadha turns this British-Asian film about a clash between traditional values and the modern world into a fantastic feelgood movie.Full of wonderful characters. Bend It Like Beckham touches on some serious issues like cultural assimilation.Its such a enjoyable film that you tend to overlook the minor faults.
All the performances are done well, Jess's family and the outlook Indian community, living abroad is brought out real well. Archei Panjabi is good and so is Parminder Nagra. The background score is peppy and full of life.
Mr Beckham ought to be proud to have his name on such a great film. less