Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 romantic sports family and British Indian-themed comedy-drama film produced, written, and directed by Gurinder Chadha, and starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Shaznay Lewis, and Archie Panjabi.
The film's title refers to the football player David Beckham, and his skill at scoring from free kicks by curling the ball past a wall of defenders. It follows the 18-year-old daughter of Punjabi Sikhs in London. She is infatuated with football but her parents have forbidden her to play because she is a girl. She joins a local women's team, which makes its way to the top of the league.
Bend It Like Beckham was released theatrically on 12 April 2002 by Redbus Film Distribution, and on DVD and VHS on 18 November 2002 by Warner Home Video. The film surprised critics and was met with mostly positive reviews and it earned over $76 million on a $6 million budget. A stage musical version opened at London's Phoenix Theatre on 24 June 2015.
