Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Bend It Like Beckham is a 2002 sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Guljit Bindra, and Paul Mayeda Berges. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Archie Panjabi, Shaznay Lewis, Frank Harper, and Juliet Stevenson. In Bend It Like Beckham, Jesminder Bhamra (Nagra) and Jules Paxton (Knightley) chase careers in professional football despite their parents' wishes.

Development for the film began after Chadha, Bindra, and Berges completed the screenplay by early 2001. Nagra and Knightley were hired soon afterwards, with casting rounded out with the additions of Meyers, Kher, Stevenson, Lewis, and Panjabi by that May. Principal photography began in June 2001 and lasted until September, with filming locations including London, Shepperton Studios, and Hamburg. Production collaborated with The Football Association, while the film's title refers to David Beckham's curling free kick technique, also known as bending.

Bend It Like Beckham was theatrically released first in the United Kingdom on 12 April 2002 by Helkon SK. The film surprised critics, who praised the screenplay, light-hearted tone, and commentary on Punjabi social norms and culture. Bend It Like Beckham grossed $76.6 million at the box office. In 2015 it was adapted into a stage musical that opened at the Phoenix Theatre.