ROM COM MONDAY: Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Anyone can cook aloo gobi, but who can bend a ball like Beckham?

The eighteen year old Jesminder “Jess” Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is the daughter of British-Indian Punjabi Sikh parents in Hounslow, London. But what truly defines Jess is her love and talent for football and her hero David Beckham. Her parents do not support Jess’ passion and want her to find and marry a good Indian boy just like her older sister Pinky. When Jess is scouted by Jules (Keira Knightley) during a football match in the park, she invites Jess to join the amateur football team she plays for. With her dream to become a pro football player within reach, Jess has to overcome cultural and societal obstacles to make that dream come true.

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For the screenplay of BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM writer-director Gurinder Chadha drew on her own experiences with reconciling her dual identity as a woman from Indian descent growing up in England. The film combines the more light-hearted aspects of Jess’ coming of age story with the reality of the prejudice and discrimination her family is confronted with. Especially Jess’ father fears that his daughter will experience the same racism as he did. Chadha shows compassion for her characters and their personal struggles. BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM did not only finally bring representation of South Asian British culture to mainstream media, but also valued the close and healthy friendship between two young women and emphasised how difficult it is for women to secure a spot in a male dominated environment, such as sports. Young girls from all over the world finally saw that they could dream big and reach for the stars as well!

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In July 2025, Gurinder Chadha announced that a sequel to BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM was in the works, reuniting some of the original cast, to honour the 25th birthday of the original film in 2027. Something to look forward to – especially to the 90s kids among us!

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Part of ROM COM MONDAY!

! To attend to the whole programme, you need to make a separate reservation on our website !

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Director Gurinder Chadha 

GB/DE/US, 2002, 112 min

Cast Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Spoken language English, Punjabi, Hindi

Subtitles Dutch