Bend It Like Beckham is a British film released in 2002, directed by Gurinder Chadha from an original screenplay written by Chadha, Paul Berges, and Guljit Bindra. Originally released in 2002, it was re-released in America in March, 2003. Since its release, the film has achieved a mild cult-like status. It tells the tale of a young British Sikh girl who must struggle against her family's orthodox mindset to fulfil her dream of playing professional football. The film's title is a reference to the English footballer David Beckham and his skill at scoring from free-kicks, by bending the ball - making it swerve as it flies through the air.

It was filmed throughout London, UK including Soho (football store and pub), Hounslow (where the main characters live), Piccadilly Circus, and Southall, as well as in Hamburg, Germany.

Tagline: Who wants to cook Aloo gobi when you can bend a ball like Beckham?

The film is a coming-of-age tale about a teenage Sikh girl, Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra (Parminder Nagra), living in the suburbs of London not far from Heathrow Airport. Her first-generation Punjabi immigrant parents push her hard to study to get into university and become a physician, and wish to arrange a marriage for her in due course. Jess instead dreams of football, inspired by one of England's most famous players, David Beckham. She displays unusual talent for the game in park matches with the local boys, running them ragged with her evasive skills.

While playing in the park Jess is spotted by Juliette "Jules" Paxton (Keira Knightley), the star player at the Hounslow Harriers (a local amateur women's football club). She happily accepts Jules's invitation to join the club, even though she knows her parents would disapprove. Jess becomes a key member of the side and Jules's best friend. She also develops a special bond with the team's coach (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), a young man whose dreams of football stardom were shattered when he injured his knee. Meanwhile, there are rumours that a scout from Santa Clara University in the US is looking for players for the school's women's team. The resulting situation sets up a number of culture clashes ranging from the comical to the serious, as Jess, her friends (both from the Indian community and the football club), and family, try to negotiate their way between the expectations of two cultures and their own dreams and desires.

The movie also shows that immigrant families are not unique in their adherence to tradition. Jules's mother (Juliet Stevenson), who has very conventional views of femininity, pressures her daughter to wear frilly lingerie rather than sports bras and fears that Jules is in a lesbian relationship with Jess. Instead of the standard plot device of the unyielding father and the understanding mother, the roles are reversed with the father having the wisdom to let his daughter fulfil her dreams and the mother clinging to her ideas and traditions. In Jess's case, her father (Anupam Kher) decides to let her play in the football tournament even when it means leaving her sister's wedding early. In Jules's case, her father encourages her to play football instead of chasing boys and doing normal "girl things."

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham were keen to make cameo appearances in the film but were unable due to work commitments. Chadha used two look-alikes instead.

The soundtrack features bhangra, soul music, songs by Victoria Beckham, Mel C, Texas and the aria Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot.

This movie was popular with audiences around the world including, surprisingly enough, the United States, where David Beckham was little known at the time of its release. This film made Beckham better known in North America.

Critical reviews were a little mixed, with at least some critics describing it derisively as "Billy Elliot with football instead of ballet;" some American critics thought the film was merely mining the same vein of humour as My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Underscoring the latter point, critic Steve Sailer, in a mildly favourable review, dubbed the movie My Big Fat Sikh Heading.

The 9th Pyongyang Film Festival, held in 2004, screened a dubbed and censored version of Bend It Like Beckham and U.S.-produced South African drama Cry, The Beloved Country. Bend it like Beckham reportedly delighted the limited audience of less than 100 that was allowed to see it. The film won the music prize.