20 years ago, 'Bend It Like Beckham' changed how millions of girls saw themselves

This is a column by Shireen Ahmed, who writes opinion for CBC Sports. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ. 

"What family will want a daughter-in-law who can run around kicking football all day but can't make round chapatis?" — Mrs. Bhamra. (This column contains spoilers, but if you haven't yet seen this film watch it immediately.)

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Bend It Like Beckham, one of the most impactful films of all time in my view, turns 20 years old today. It forever changed the discourse on Brown girls and sport, and South Asian representation on the big screen and behind the camera.

While we are in an era that has dark-skinned, South Asian lead actresses in some of the most popular series on television (e.g. season two of Bridgerton on Netflix), this iconic line from the fictional Mrs. Bhamra is as poignant and timely as many of the other topics covered in the seminal film. Mrs. Bhamra is one of the delightful characters that filmmaker Gurinder Chadha brought to life with this beautiful and important story, in which so many young girls saw — and still see — themselves reflected in the movie.

Two decades ago Bend It Like Beckham told us the story of Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra, a Manchester United-loving girl from a traditional Sikh family who plays soccer for fun in the local park and then is asked to join a girls' team. As the movie unfolds, she falls in love with her coach, Joe, which leads to tension with her teammate and friend, Juliette "Jules" Paxton.

It intertwines issues of inter-racial relationships and power dynamics, and of course features the growth of a character like Jess, perfectly played by Parminder Nagra, who unfortunately is too seldom seen on screen since as a central figure. 

I pride myself on being a self-declared Bend It Like Beckham scholar. I have written about the importance of this film in graduate school (I got an 'A' on the paper), I interviewed Chadha when the musical version of the movie hit Toronto, and I continue to speak about the importance of this film on many levels: as a soccer player, a South Asian daughter, and as a racialized woman sports journalist in mainstream media.

The most visceral response to this film from marginalized young women is that they see aspects of themselves they have never seen anywhere else on-screen. This coupled with the stories of young women in spaces where they shouldn't be while grappling with their identities and their futures is what hits home. 

The eternal requests faced by so many South Asian girls are rarely addressed in films for Western audiences: can you please put your dreams on hold and fulfill your family obligations and cultural expectations? Can you not fall in love with that activity or that person? Can you conform to what is expected of you? Even non-Indian young women feel these questions and these pressures.

Culture writer Stacy Lee Kwong wrote on Instagram that even though she isn't Punjabi, British "or even a little bit sporty" this movie made her feel seen. "Two decades later, it still does," Kwong wrote. 

Bend It Like Beckham interrogates many aspects of life for the two protagonists, but as the spotlight shines on Jess, it still asks us to consider everything from the experiences of immigrant families, to socio-economic disparities, systemic racism, acceptance of LGBTIQ in the broader community, and of course, sexism in sports.

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"There's a reason why Sporty Spice is the only one of them without a fella!" — Paula Paxton, Juliette's mother.