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Why 'Bend It Like Beckham' Remains A Classic In The Hearts Of South Asians

A teen comedy about the Indian immigrant experience? MOOD!
Born And Raised is an ongoing series by HuffPost Canada. Part reflection, part storytelling, this series on the children of immigrants explores what it means to be born and raised in Canada.
HuffPost Canada
Born And Raised is an ongoing series by HuffPost Canada. Part reflection, part storytelling, this series on the children of immigrants explores what it means to be born and raised in Canada.

If you’re not used to seeing people who look like you onscreen, the times you do are unforgettable. When the film “Bend It Like Beckham” scored big in theatres in 2002, the classic teen comedy was a game-changer for young South Asians who saw themselves in Jess Bhamra and her Punjabi Sikh family.

With a musical adaptation getting its North American premiere in Toronto, five South-Asian Canadians looked back on how they related to the teenage soccer player who was torn between the sport she loved and the family she wanted to please.

Krystal Kiran is the musical’s assistant choreographer, dance captain, and a performer in the Toronto adaptation. She remembers having “a visceral reaction” to the movie.

“I think it was the first time I ever saw Punjabi Sikh women represented in film,” she told HuffPost Canada.

The flick impressed many for being as affirming as it was entertaining: the reality of cultural expectations? Check. A nuanced female lead of a sports movie? Absolutely. Some truly laugh-out-loud moments? Yep, and they’re still just as funny now.

And just as timeless are the personal revelations South Asian viewers realized, thanks to “Bend It Like Beckham.”

“I don’t have to be Indian or western. They both work together, they’re both part of my identity,” actor Noor Dhanda said.

LISTEN: Born And Raised Podcast: Alisha Sawhney and other second-generation Canadians get real about how their family backgrounds have affected their self-worth.

Born And Raised is an ongoing series by HuffPost Canada. Part reflection, part storytelling, this series on the children of immigrants explores what it means to be born and raised in Canada. We want to hear your stories — join the conversation on Twitter at #BornandRaised or send us an email at bornandraised@huffpost.com.

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