I have one demand for the Bend It Like Beckham sequel

An old Indian lady stood at a bride’s procession and innocently said: ‘Lesbian? Her birthday’s in March. I thought she was Pisces?’

Another piped up: ‘She’s not Lebanese, she’s Punjabi!’

When I first saw this scene from the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham, I was in shock. I couldn’t imagine seeing an old Indian woman say the word ‘lesbian’. 

And since then, my queer friends and I quote these lines at least once a month, while rolling around laughing. 

But it’s not just a silly joke – it’s a pinnacle moment in a film that changed so many lives.

For South Asian people, Bend It Like Beckham offered insight into our culture, the racism we face and the expectations we have of each other. It put my South Asian hometown, Hounslow, on the map and it is still the film we go back to when we want to talk about representation. 

But it also became a queer cult film for its suggestive subtext, quotable queer lines and coming-out storyline. So when I heard that the director, Gurinder Chada, has confirmed a sequel – hopefully with members of the original cast – I was ecstatic. 

But I had one thought: it better be more queer. 

No subtext. No nods and winks. Gay. As. Hell.

The 2002 Bend it Like Beckham revolved around Jess (Parminder Nagra) a young girl who wants to play football professionally. 

She meets Jules (Keira Knightley) and joins the girl’s local football team, Hounslow Harriers, against her parent’s wishes.

It was a hit – made on only a $5.6 million budget, Bend it Like Beckham grossed over $76.8 million at the global box office.

While the film didn’t explicitly stipulate Jess’ sexuality, her rejection of over-sexualisation of teenage girls and disinterest in boys made her the blueprint for a baby queer like me, and many others, to help understand ourselves. 

In one scene, when Jess and Jules get accepted for football scholarships in the United States, they celebrate with a hug and almost kiss while embracing – to my queer teenage eyes, they were basically fully making out. 

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In another, Jess’ best friend Tony comes out by telling her: ‘I really like Beckham’, giving her a pointed look. ‘But you’re Indian!’, Jess exclaims – just as many have exclaimed to me when I came out.

And, like the accepting friend she is, she instantly accepts him.

Jess’ cut off vest/hoodie was, and still probably is, the most lesbian outfit I’ve seen on an Indian woman on TV, and it helped me accept my own style. 

As a young teenager, I forced myself to dress and act for the male gaze. 

But by 17, I became an emo, wearing multiple studded belts, thick eyeliner around my eyes and baggy clothes. I was often called a ‘tomboy’ or ‘weird’ because I had rejected the expectation to marry a ‘good Indian boy’, and given space to my own expression. 

Some of my family had a similar reaction towards me that Jess’ family had to her in the film, exclaiming that I had to embrace Indian traditions and be more like the Indian girls they knew. They wanted me to be less strange…less queer. 

But when Hounslow Harriers’ coach Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), says, ‘Your parents don’t always know what’s best for you’ I realised that the concept of ‘respecting your elders’ was a technique of control. The film could have been made for me.

It’s not just the narrative of the film, either, but the subject matter: women’s football is indeed currently very gay. 

Today, there is a significant presence of openly LGBTQ+ players in women’s teams. 

While the characters in Bend it Like Beckham would joke about sleeping with men and have crushes on their coach, the current Euro-winning women’s England team today is made up of players like Leah Williamson, Beth Mead, Jess Carter and Lauren Hemp who are openly LGBTQ+.

Gurinder Chadha revealed her sequel aims to release in 2027, to align with the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Chadha has been quoted as saying that she is ‘excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women’s game’ and that, ‘women’s football is more competitive, more exciting, and more global than ever. It is an honor for me to be a small part of it’.

Now we don’t just want it back again, we want it gay. Just like the football we watch now, the lives we live now and the Indian people we openly exist as now.

In 2002, we heard Jess say: ‘I’m not playing with boys anymore – I’m joining a girl’s team’. 

And in 2027, I want this to come true in every sense of the word. 

Let’s make Bend it Like Beckham as queer as it was always meant to be.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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