Sari and soccer

Tradition meets modernity in a British hit film

by Kaizaad Kotwal

The hot new U.K. film Bend It Like Beckham is finally making its way.S., and if global popularity of this import is any indication, then it is likely to score big

as well.

Director Gurinder Chadha's third feature film has done very well both at the box office and in the awards race. It topped the box office charts in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and earned over 11 million pounds in the U.K., the most ever for a British-financed and distributed film.

More importantly, Beckham has won awards at the Locarno, Sydney, and Toronto film festivals. Recently it was nominated for Best Film by the European Film Academy and Best European Film at the BAFTAs, the British Oscars.

Bend It Like Beckham is a laugh-riot tale about a young girl of Indian origins in England who must balance the whims of her traditional family against the burning desires of her own modernity. It is, in its essence, a tale of culture clash, reminiscent of Rudyard Kipling's admonition that, "East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet."

Chaddha handles these cultural calamities with a lot of humor, some poignancy, and a healthy dose of stereotypes.

The poster for the film summarizes it very aptly. A young

sari, holds a pair of muddy soccer cleats as though she is woman, dressed in a traditional silk

to hide them from somebody.

Jess, the protagonist, is a soccer-loving teen living in the suburbs of London. She desires more than anything else to play soccer professionally like her hero, the real-life star David Beckham. This desire, fueled by her amazing talent at the sport, is complicated by her rather traditional Indian family's overprotective nature.

Jess's older sister Pinky is being trained to be the perfect Indian housewife to the perfect Indian husband-in-waiting. Pinky herself defies certain stereotypes by being rather tarty and secretly courting other guys while her impending marriage lurks around the corner.

Jess finds every way imaginable to go behind her parents' backs and practice soccer. She befriends Jules on the team and even here complications arise when both fall for their soccer coach, the young and gorgeous Joe.

The final crisis rears its ugly head when an important soccer match, where U.S. scouts will be present, is scheduled to clash with Pinky's wedding. Will Jess disappoint her family by playing during her sister's wedding, or will she disappoint herself by abandoning her lifelong dream?

David Beckham, married to former Spice Girl Posh, has become a sexual icon for both straight women and gay men alike. And Beckham has intentionally courted both audiences by posing provocatively in fashion spreads and elsewhere. Jess adores Beckham's abilities and her best friend, a young man of Indian origin as well, adores Beckham for his gorgeous features and sculpted body. While this friend is not a huge part of the film, Chadha does help quell some stereotypes of gay Indians through this character.

In one of the film's more comedic sub-plots, some gossipy Indian suburbanites find Jess and Jules horsing ng around on the street. Immediately rumors start to spread about their budding lesbian leanings. The rumor reaches the ears of both girls' parents and the comedy of errors that ensues is truly hysterical, particularly as Jules' mother tries to prove to her daughter that she is enlightened and "with it" when it comes to these things.

While Chadha and her co-writers Guljit Bindra and Paul Mayeda Berges do well with gays and lesbians in the film, the are unable to escape stereotypes of Indian expatriates in England. This is not to suggest that there is no truth behind the stereotypes of the traditional Indian parents, arranged marriages and so on, but Western audiences aren't seeing anything different from these images.

Nevertheless, the film is extremely engaging and well worth watching, with fast-paced directing and a stellar cast.

As Jess, Parminder Nagra exudes a sense of innocence and feminine strength that is wonderful to watch. This is Nagra's feature film debut and she balances the gutsy soccer player with the dutiful daughter with a deftness that belies her age.

As her friend Jules, Kiera Knightley turns in a gutsy portrayal ofa young teen who struggles with the heartache of falling in love with her soccer coach only to lose him to her best friend. British actress Juliet Stevenson has the film's best performance as Jules' mother. She blends high satire and deep emotion without ever becoming a caricature.

Veteran Indian actor Anupam Kher, who has starred in over 270 Bollywood films, turns in a restrained and endearing performance as Jess' father, a man who struggles with his own sense of tradition and his deep love for his daughter which nags at him to let her spread her wings and fly.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who has played queer in many films including Velvet Goldmine and Titus, is effective as the soccer coach Joe. It is easy to see why boh Jess and Jules fall for him. With Bend It Like Beckham, Chadha has scored a popular hit. This will be her ticket into the Hollywood mainstream. Her follow-up to this soccer flick is a Bollywood musical adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

With the winter blahs gradually giving way to warmer days of soccer playing weather, go catch Bend It Like Beckham, and welcome spring with a good dose of laughter and fun. ✔

Gurinder Chadha

April 4, 2003

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE