Plot
Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) is the 18-year-old daughter of Punjabi Sikhs from Hounslow, west London. Juliette "Jules" Paxton (Keira Knightley) is the daughter of an English couple. Jess is infatuated with football, but because she is female (and Indian), her parents do not allow her to play. However, she sometimes plays in the park with various boys and her good friend Tony, a closeted homosexual. When Jules discovers Jess' skills, she invites Jess to try out for her local team, the Hounslow Harriers, coached by Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), an Irishman. Although initially skeptical, Joe is convinced by watching Jess play, and puts her on the team. Jess lies to Joe about her parents being on board with the idea. She becomes best friends with Jules and Marlena "Mel" Goines (Shaznay Lewis).
Jess is attracted to Joe, a gora. When the team travels to Hamburg, Jess and Joe's relationship develops; at the end of the night the two are about to kiss when Jules (who also has a crush on Joe) interrupts them, souring Jess and Jules' friendship. When Jess arrives at Jules' house to try to fix the friendship, Mrs. Paxton is misled and thinks that the pair are involved in a lesbian relationship. Jess' parents learn that she has been playing on the team and become more strict, ensuring she does not attend matches. Meanwhile, the elder Bhamras are distracted by the elaborate preparations for the upcoming wedding of their older daughter, Pinky (Archie Panjabi).
Thanks to Jess and Jules' skill, the Harriers reach the finals of the league tournament. An American recruiting scout will be attending. Unfortunately, the final is held on the day of Pinky's wedding. Joe pleads with Mr. Bhamra to allow Jess to play, but he refuses. He reveals that he does not want Jess to suffer as he did when he was kicked out of a cricket club because of his race. Joe accepts that Jess will not play and the final begins without her. Halfway through Pinky's wedding reception, Tony convinces Mr. Bhamra (Anupam Kher) to allow Jess to play. Tony drives Jess to the final, where the Harriers are 1–0 down, with half an hour remaining.
Jess and Jules tie the score, and when Jess is awarded a free kick, she must bend the ball around the wall of players to win the game. She succeeds, and Hounslow wins the tournament. Jess and Jules are offered football scholarships to Santa Clara University in California. Jules tells her parents immediately, but Jess has trouble telling hers. Jules and Mrs. Paxton arrive at the wedding, for Jules to celebrate the scholarship offers with Jess. Again mistaking the girls' mutual affection for something more, Mrs. Paxton accuses Jess of being a hypocrite, and calls her a 'lesbian'. Mortified by the scene her mother is making, Jules grabs her and flees. She then explains to her mother that the fight between them was simply over Joe.
Jess still has not told her parents of her scholarship, so Tony claims that he and Jess want to get engaged, on the condition that she goes to any college she wants prior to their marriage. Jess exposes the lie, stating that she needs to base her future on honesty, and that accepting the scholarship is her heart's desire. Mr. Bhamra talks Mrs. Bhamra into allowing Jess to go, saying that he does not want Jess to give up her dreams as he did. Jess flees to the football field to tell Joe of her parents' decision. The two almost kiss, but Jess pulls away, saying her parents would object; although they had bent their rules to let her go to America to play, she doesn't think they would be able to handle her breaking another cultural taboo.
On the day of Jess' and Jules' flight to America, the two families say their separate goodbyes to their daughters. As the two are about to board the plane, Joe arrives and confesses his love for Jess. The two kiss. Jess agrees to sort out their relationship (and her parents) when she returns for Christmas. A weeping Mrs. Bhamra offers Jules' mother a tissue, and the fathers shake hands.
In the final scene, a pregnant Pinky sets a Santa Clara team photograph back on the mantel in her parents' house. As the movie ends, Mr. Bhamra and Joe play cricket in the park.
Read more about this topic: Bend It Like Beckham
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