“Bending the Rules and Escape to Glory”- A review on the movie Bend It Like Beckham!
Bend It Like Beckham is a British-Indian Romantic Comedy and Sports film which released in the year 2002. It talks about the struggle of a girl, an aspiring footballer, who belongs to a conservative Indian-Origin Sikh family based in Hounslow, West London and her journey of becoming a professional footballer. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anupam Kher, Shaheen Khan and Archie Panjabi in pivotal roles.[1]
The title of the film is self-explanatory as it talks about legendary English footballer and England Captain David Beckham and his prowess of scoring free kicks by curling the ball past a wall of defenders.
The movie was directed by Gurinder Chadha who has movies like Bride and Prejudice(2004),Bhaji On The Beach(1993),It’s a Wonderful Afterlife(2010) and Viceroy’s House(2017) to her name. Gurinder Chadha co-wrote the screenplay with Guljit Bindra and Paul Mayeda Berges.
The cinematography of the film was done by Jong Lin. The major portions of the film were shot in various locations in and around London. A part of it was also shot in Hamburg and Berlin, both in Germany.[2]
The movie basically deals with the subject of inadequate representation of women in the field of sports and other fields as well. The main reason behind this is the mentality of the family of the girl and the society around her. No encouragement is provided to them and they are made to know that sporting activities are meant for boys only and girls are better off in the kitchen. The movie has been chosen as a project because it helps us to highlight the main reason why there is so much of gender imbalance in the field of sports. The movie doesn’t particularly deal with the social issue only but also discusses where it roots from, what are its effects spread across various aspects: mentally, socially, economically, physically, etc., and how this issue could be dealt with. This problem finds relevance in India very much as we can see the huge gender gap in sports, both indoor and outdoor, and also the gap in resources provided to the boys and girls.
Synopsis of the Plot
Jesminder Kaur alias Jess, an 18-year old girl lives with her parents Mr. Mohaan Singh Bhamra, mother Mrs.Sukhi Kaur and sister Pinky in Hounslow, London. They are collectively known as the “Bhamras” in their locality. Jess who is infatuated with football fantasizes to share the dressing room with her idol, David Beckham someday. But her dream remains a dream because she knows that she hails from a conservative family and her parents will not support her playing football. However she sometimes plays in the park with boys, including her close friend, Tony, who always urges her to take up football as a profession, and even though knowing about the nature of her family, always supports her. Jess’ life takes a turn when her skills were spotted by Jules, a girl of the same age as Jess belonging to a native English family, whilst a jog in the park. Jules reveals that she is a footballer too and plays for a local women’s team Hounslow Harriers. Eventually both the girls become friends. Jules introduces Jess to her coach Joe, who initially was skeptical about a new player joining the team. But mesmerized by Jess’ skills he readily accepts her in the team and positions Jess upfront along with Jules in the lineup.
Jess becomes a seasoned player with the passing of time. But the Bhamras come to know about Jess playing football behind their backs. They forbid her from playing anymore and were not convinced even though Joe personally came to their house to persuade them about Jess’ skills and what a bright future she has. But with the help of Pinky, Jess reconciles with her team and secretly flies off to Hamburg, Germany to play a cup final. Unfortunately the Harriers lost due to a missed penalty by Jess. Meanwhile the elder Bhamras find out about Jess and Pinky’s lie and their whereabouts. Jess having to face the music was locked up in the house, made to do all kinds of household work which a quintessential Indian girl should know and strictly warned from associating with the sport any further.
On the other hand Jess wants to reconcile with Jules on the aftermath of an incident in Germany where Jules found Jess and Joe in an intimate position. Jules was adamant and claims that she told Jess about her relationship with Joe. Failing to explain her position to Jules, Jess barges out of her home in anger.
The Bhamras begin their elaborate preparations for Pinky’s wedding. All the family members except Jess get fully indulged in the celebrations. Seeing Jess so morose Tony decides to take her to the football ground for an ongoing final match. To the utter disbelief as well as joy of Jess, this time even Mr. Bhamra lets her leave the proceedings and go. Jess wins the match for the Harriers from being 0–1 down from a free kick in which the ball curled past a wall of defenders. Jess joins Pinky’s wedding party along with Jules, now happier than ever.
After the party gets over, Jess reveals that she has got a sports scholarship from the Santa Clara University in the US, and she wants to pursue her dream of playing football professionally. Initially hesitating, the family members agree when Mr. Bhamra revealed that he once secretly watched Jess playing in a match. He agreed that Jess has the potential to follow her dreams and in fact she should follow her heart. Jess and Jules both get ready to pursue their dreams. In the airport Joe comes over and confesses his love for Jess, and she happily accepts him. The girls see David Beckham in the airport and think it of as a sign to start a new chapter of their lives.[3]
Cast
· Parminder Nagra as Jess
· Kiera Knightley as Jules
· Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Joe
· Anupam Kher as Mr. Bhamra
· Shaheen Khan as Mrs. Bhamra
· Archie Panjabi as Pinky
· Ameet Chana as Tony
Evaluation
Inadequate representation of women is prevalent not only in sports but also in several other fields. However we restrict ourselves to the discussion of inadequate representation of women in sporting activities only keeping in view the movie selected. In the movie, Jess the main character has been portrayed as a brave character who despite of all the social norms set for her, pursues her dream; a man-like dream of playing football. All she made was a move; a brave move. She went up to her father and confessed her love for the game and her intention to pursue it. Joe, the coach of Jess and Jules the friend of Jess played a major role in making her realize the value of the football in her life and goaded her to have a talk with her parents. They basically depict the human support that any female aspirant needs. Mr. Bhamra, Jess’s father gets convinced that his daughter has enough potential to excel. He although being firm and orthodox with his decision initially, gives in to his daughter’s wish thus swaying from one mindset to another. This shows that how the mentality of the family and the society at large can be changed on a particular issue which might be the biggest impediment in the course of getting girls into sports. If the impediments of economic crisis, social norms and others can be overcome then definitely girls will be able to bend the stereotypical rules and escape to glory.
Analysis
Sporting activities by girls are still considered a taboo especially in the Indian society. From London to Ludhiana, the story remains the same even today. Girls even today after having a lot of talent and potential are either economically unstable or circumstantially unavailable to showcase their talent even if they have the will. And in most of the cases the social norms set by the people don’t allow them to . And very few people take the sincere efforts to address their problems or provide the impetus to them to stand up and fight for themselves. In the movie, the Bhamras made continuous attempts to persuade Jess to stop following her dreams and learn certain household jobs such as “making perfectly round rotis”. But Jess indeed being a brave girl successfully convinces her parents to let her follow her dreams.
Girls even today in India are barred from venturing into different sectors and disciplines. And in sports especially very less representation and almost zero encouragement may be given to women. Many girls in India do not even receive the basic education. Time has changed a lot today. Girls are venturing into academics, aviation, sports, literature as well as defence. But a majority of those breaking the barriers belong to a privileged background and a liberal and progressive family. But still the representation is inadequate and much more representation is needed from women who belong to a lower strata of the society. From the time they are infants they are made to know that they will have to grow up, marry someone, conceive children and end up secluded in between the four walls.
Conclusion and Suggestions
A brave move by Jess was what made her let her dreams get fulfilled. This brave move is what is needed to be made by those women who instead of brewing with talent are unable to showcase them. The brave move will be an impetus for their dreams to get unfolded. Coaches and trainers should take an initiative to spot the talent, groom them, convince their family members provided their family members have orthodox thoughts. In case the family is financially unstable, the respective sporting authorities should allocate the required funds for the development of the candidate. Let us take an example of football. On hearing the name of the first thing that comes to the minds of the people is 22 well-built men vying for the ball. No one is ready to imagine girls playing the sport in the first instance as they are considered to be weak for such a high intensity sport. Similar situation arises in every home where girls are restricted from venturing into disciplines like law, medicine, civil services and many more as the other members think that girls are better off in kitchen. The mentality that girls cannot prosper in any field has to be changed. More and more girls have to be encouraged to pursue their field of interest irrespective of any kind of social norms, barriers or customs. The attention of the concerned authorities has to be drawn towards the plight of these women. Any measure introduced in the betterment of these women to give them a better future may change the lives of countless women as well their families. Poor families need to be given financial assistance wherein their girls may concentrate both on sports and academics and the family have enough to fill the stomachs of all the members, especially the girl concerned. Girls in their respective sports should be trained under the best of the coaches and instructors to prepare them for both national and international laurels. And finally time to time health check-ups and counselling sessions for the girls should be conducted. Sportswomen should be given equal dignity and resources as much as the sportsmen are given. Regular campaigns and promotions of women in sports should be done to attract nationwide interest and encouragement.
From the perspective of the nation, who knows that a slight effort to provide representation to these women may prove to be immensely fruitful. We have lively examples of Sakshi Malik, Heena Sidhu, P.V. Sindhu, Mithali Raj and Sania Mirza. Why are they called The Daughters of India? Because they have won accolades and honours in the field of sports and taken the pride of the nation to the summit. These people should be considered as idols and inspiration and budding talent among girls should be groomed accordingly.”
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286499/
