Reviewer's Summary - Sheer Delight
Language: English
Year: 2002
Actors: Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Archie Punjabi
Director: Gurinder Chadha
Producer: Deepak Nayar, Gurinder Chadha
Written by: Gurinder Chadha, Guljit Bindra, Paul Mayeda Berges
What a delightful movie.
In Bend it like Beckham, UK-based director Gurinder Chadha has fashioned an outstanding comedy that meshes an original story
and fine acting by the key players.
Jessminder Bhamra a.k.a Jes (Parminder Nagra) is the younger daughter of UK-based Indian immigrants Mrs.Bhamra (Shaheen Khan)
and Mr.Bhamra (Anupam Kher).
Much to the consternation of her conservative Sikh parents, particularly her mother, Jes has a strange passion for an Indian
girl - an obsession with playing football.
Obviously, Jes' idol is not a Bollywood hero but the British football star David Beckham, who can supposedly "bend" the ball
like nobody else.
To Jes' mother, her daughter's love for football is incomprehensible. You see, all the mother wants is for Jessminder
to be like a normal Indian girl - learn how to cook Indian food like Aloo Gobi or round chapatis and marry a nice Sikh boy.
Another football-crazy girl Jules (Keira Knightley), who plays for the amateur Hounslow Harriers club sees Jes playing in the
park with the boys and arranges a meeting with her coach Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), who tells Jes she has potential and
invites her to join the club.
Although forbidden by her parents to play football, Jes sneaks away to play the game, an obsession that almost throws the
spanner in her sister's upcoming marriage.
As if playing football was not enough to send her family up the pole, Jes is also attracted to her White coach Joe much to
the dislike of her pal Jules, who is also smitten with the guy.
UK-born Parminder Nagra has put in a solid performance as the young girl Jes conflicted by respect for her tradition-bound
parents and her passion for football.
Who can forget the memorable line from Jules' mother struggling to make sense of her daughter's passion for football - The
offside rule is when the French mustard has to be between the Teriyaki sauce and the sea salt.
Deservedly, Bend it like Beckham won a whole bunch of awards. - Copyright SearchIndia.com.
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