Gurinder Chadha, director of Bend It Like Beckham (2002), began her career as a news reporter with BBC Radio, directing several award winning documentaries for the BBC. Her first directorial project was I'm British But..., a documentary made in 1989. In 1990, Chadha set up her own production company, Umbi Films (Hunt, "Chadha, Gurinder"). Bend It Like Beckham was a definite crowd-pleaser and “established…Gurinder Chadha as one of the most sought after directors in Britain” (Fischer, "Paul Fischer Interviews Gurinder Chadha").
Her inspiration for the film came from her fellow Brits' dismay over losing in the 1998 World Cup, causing her to wonder what it would be like to put an Indian girl in the center of the football (in America, soccer) world. The dramatic comedy is about Jess Bhamra, a 19-year-old girl living with her parents in London. She dreams of playing European football but her traditional Sikh parents think she is better off learning how to cook so she can land a husband. The movie makes fun of and celebrates their traditions at the same time.
The ‘auteur theory’ certainly applies when looking at Chadha’s role in directing Bend It Like Beckham. “’Auteurism’ developed in the 1950s…Godard, Truffaut and Rohmer…argued that, although social contexts shape film processes, it was the director who authored a film” (Humm 96). The film reflects Chadha’s personal creative visions, beliefs and experiences. In fact, the movie is partially autobiographical, says Chadha.
Her experiences with her father are reflected in the film through Jess’ conflicts with her father over being a female football player (in Chadha’s case, the conflict was over her being a female director). But she didn’t become a director just to tell her own personal stories. “I started making movies because I wanted to see more people that looked like me or my community on our screens,” she explains. She had a strong desire to see her culture represented in movies (“Bend It Like Beckham”).
Chadha agrees that the film is about redefining boundaries of cultures and gender. She describes it as a “beautiful dance” among the two generations of families, where both generations know what the other wants and try to appease the other but also break new ground ("Urban Cinefile CHADHA, GURINDER: BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM").
Chadha had great difficulty raising the finance for the movie. “They’d say ‘Soccer? Girl soccer? Indian girl soccer? – no way!’” So, in a conversation she had with John Woodward, the head of the Film Council, she pointed out that the Council invites her to lecture and talks about opportunities and diversity, yet after all her previous success, it had been seven years since she made a film. She essentially told them (politely) to put their money where their mouth was. The Council ended up funding a million pounds for the movie ("Urban Cinefile CHADHA, GURINDER: BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM").
And they were probably glad they invested in the movie; it was very well-received in Britain, America and Canada, getting rave reviews from critics. Says Chadha, “Finally, after ten years of making movies, I finally made a movie that's making some money and, what that really means is I don't have to struggle so hard to get the next film made” (Fischer, "Paul Fischer Interviews Gurinder Chadha").
Works Cited
Fischer, Paul. "Paul Fischer Interviews Gurinder Chadha." FilmMonthly.com. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
Humm, Maggie. "Chapter 4." Feminism and Film. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1997. 96. Print.
Hunt, Martin. "Chadha, Gurinder." BFI Screen Online. Reference Guide to British and Irish Film Directors, 2003. Web. 16 Nov. 2011.
"Urban Cinefile CHADHA, GURINDER: BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM." Urban Cinefile - New Movie Reviews Including DVD and Video for Film Audiences. Web. 17 Nov. 2011.
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