Twenty years ago, Jess Bhamra , an 18-year-old British Indian football fanatic, first graced our screens in a surreal initial dream scene entrance, her face photoshopped onto a football player running around a pitch, and her goal being discussed by dream-version-Gary-Lineker in the BBC Sports Studio newsroom.
The film continually pushes the boundaries in so many other ways too, really making it the ultimate underdog film for underdogs, from the perception of women in sports, to the portrayal of immigrants in the UK.
Despite all the fairly serious issues covered in Bend it Like Beckham, Gurinder Chadha’s style of comedic writing and directing is truly what made the film a cultural phenomenon. Instead of veering into darker territories, the film exemplifies all the best-loved elements of rom-com and coming-of-age comedies, with quotable lines, an upbeat 2000s soundtrack , and the cliché timings of all the most pivotal life events occurring on the same day.