Bend It Like Beckham creator credits hit movie for David Beckham's fame in USA
Bend It Like Beckham film-maker Gurinder Chadha has admitted that she takes some credit for David Beckham's staggering success.
The talented movie-maker also revealed that she has been working on a sequel to iconic 2000's flick Bend It Like Like Beckham following the incredible success of the England Women's Football team in the Women's World Cup this year. Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, Gurinder, 63, who is also the genius behind box-office smash movie Angus Thongs And Perfect Snogging, opened up about why she decided to give the film it's now iconic title – after several producers tried to put her off the idea amid fears that Americans would 'have no clue' who David Beckham was at the time.
Bend It Like Beckham was theatrically released first in the UK in 2002 and the film received rave reviews from critics, with praise for the screenplay, light-hearted tone, and commentary on South Asian social norms and culture. The UK-based film wasn't just a hit here, as it also grossed a staggering $76.6 million (£62.3 million) at the box office, making it the highest-grossing football sports film. It also became the first Western movie to ever grace theatres in North Korea.
Gurinder Chadha is the mastermind behind Bend It Like Beckham (Getty Images)
The film-maker believes she put David on the map in the US (Getty Images)With a stellar cast including Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagra, and Archie Panjabi it became one of the most successful UK-based movies to premiere in the past two decades – but Gurinder's genius movie plot was turned down more times than she would like to admit before she was finally given a chance.
In an exclusive chat with the Mirror, she recalled: "When we first started working on the film, we did approach David – but that was in the late 90s and he was just a young kid working and he had his famous curtain hairstyle. He was living his dream playing for Manchester United and he was obviously dating Victoria at the time. When we approached him, he was actually very supportive because he wanted to encourage more girls to play football.
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"He didn't know at the time, and I didn't know, that it was going to take me about four years to get the film made and by the time the film came out, he now had had 'Beckham' brand. Suddenly, he was everywhere and I think that helped us enormously with the film.
"But because he approached us with such a sweet and kind gesture initially, it was perfect karma that when I went to the US with the film, nobody knew who he was. The movie company actually wanted to change the title of the film because they feared the film wouldn't work in America because nobody knew who David Beckham was. We then kept trying to think of a new title, but nothing stuck.
"So, we kind of put David on the map when the film garnered so much success. In a way we helped him and he helped us."
Opening up about the inspiration behind Bend It Like Beckham, Gurinder shared: "The inspiration for the film came from an England football match I saw on TV. I saw Ian Wright on the pitch with a Union Jack. I thought things had changed, football was changing. Something felt different and I always liked bringing opposites together.
"I thought football with David Beckham and an Indian girl, they were two worlds that are separate. I thought the film would do well but I never expected that 20 years on it would be so cherished and loved all over the world. I didn’t think it would become a girl power classic.
Parminder K. Nagra and Jonathan Rhys Meyers in Bend It Like Beckham"Recently in America, every single one of the soccer team that were champions said they got into football because of the film. And so much has changed here, too. The women’s game is on TV now. You would never have that back then. There has been a lot of progress, also with racism."
During her chat with The Mirror, Gurinder revealed that she has been defiantly against the idea of a sequel to Bend It Like Beckham following it's huge global success – until this year after the Lionesses incredible journey during the World Cup.
Given that Bend It Like Beckham shone a light on the taboo that was women's football over twenty years ago, the film-maker feels that a new stance on the women's sport that was for a long time not respected in the UK, could be another huge success.
Opening up about her exciting film plans, Gurinder told The Mirror: "For the longest time I never wanted to do a sequel. But I have to say, after the World Up this year, and also with the EUROs a few years ago, my brain is ticking again and I have an idea in my head that I'm thinking through for the first time.
"I'm thinking that I could definitely do something. I never wanted to follow the girls off in America, because I felt that what I had created was so magical for that moment in time. It's very hard with sequels - there are very few sequels that I think really hit the mark after the success of the first film. However, I do have an idea and I am starting to work on it, so I think I will definitely do something that shows how brilliant our athletes are right now."
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